The Ballad of the Last Chance Saloon
by writer writing
Summary: In Louisville, Kentucky, saloon girls there are disappearing and then turning up murdered, but nobody seems to care to find out what's happening to them until Kid Cole goes undercover to unravel the mystery. Sister Ruth goes undercover as well, posing as a saloon girl. 1837. AU. Eighth in a series.
1. Chapter 1

Sister Ruth, as she was clapping and singing, saw the young woman out of the corner of her eye. She wore her hair down and her neckline low. Her face was marked with "paint".

Some revivalists would have gone to her and insisted she leave, thinking she was only there to solicit the crowd. And even more ministers would have thrown such a woman out of "their" church with the attitude that soiled doves had no right to come into the presence of God with their sin still heavy on their conscience.

Yet, she bet those same ministers had never actually talked with the women and found out their circumstances. Many were more in physical bondage than spiritual, trapped in merciless contracts and circumstances. And regardless of whether they'd chosen to walk that path or not, they were the very people who Christ had come to save. It wasn't the healthy that needed medicine and it wasn't the righteous that needed to be found as the Good Book said.

The young woman went straight to Horace, the nice fellow whose leg God had healed at the church and put money in the offering plate that he was holding. Horace put a hand on her shoulder.

Ruth smiled to herself. They were a couple in love it was plain to see and she was touched by the offering she had given.

The woman sat right down on the front row and tucked her shawl around her in a show of modesty and joined in the clapping.

Ruth continued to give her quick glances during the service. The girl was earnestly watching, seeking, praying. She had a timid smile and a gentle spirit about her despite the ugliness she must have seen in her profession. To a woman such as this belonged the kingdom of God.

_August 13, 1837 _

The Coles were currently holding revivals out in the territory where doctors were few and so were preachers, but they periodically went in to St. Louis for mail and supplies. Ruth had received a letter from an aunt, who was now living in Louisville, on one such visit.

After too many failed crops, her uncle had taken a job on one of the steamboats and her aunt was lonely in the big city with her husband gone most of the time. She asked her to try and visit. But what really sold them on the idea was that it mentioned there was a mysterious situation she couldn't quite explain in a letter and that she thought Kid might be able to help with it.

It took a little under a month to get there by wagon, but get there they did. Louisville was a bigger place than Ruth had imagined. Although Kentucky might have once been considered "way out west" and "uncivilized", it wasn't anymore. The city boasted a library, a medical school, a theatre, mills, factories. It was a city in every sense of the word, including the swarms of people.

Mercy sat complacently in her lap, playing with a handkerchief that Ruth had tied to look like a person, or chewing on it anyway. Her red gold hair was now thicker and more visible, sprouting into loose curls. She dropped her handkerchief doll on the floorboards of the wagon. "Mama," she said.

"I don't think I'll ever tire of hearing her say mama," Ruth told Kid as she bent down to retrieve the doll for 1-year-old daughter.

"I know I haven't grown tired of hearing her say dada and she said it 2 whole weeks before she said mama," he teased with a grin.

"Rub it in and I just might decide not to feed you tonight," she warned with an equal grin.

"That's okay. Your aunt'll feed me."

"We'll see."

Her aunt and uncle's house was located near the Ohio River. Her aunt had given good directions in the letter and had included an even better drawing of what the house looked like, so it was no trouble at all finding it.

Aunt Dorcas was sitting out on the porch and she smiled wide when she saw them coming. She had a beautiful flower garden in front of the white frame house. Ruth spotted chrysanthemums, black-eyed Susans, and a rose bush. It was a charming, little home.

After the horses had been taken care of and hugs exchanged, they all went inside.

Ruth smiled as she spotted a painting on the wall. It was no wonder Aunt Dorcas hadn't made many friends yet. She was something of an artist and her paintings could be a little on the shocking side. It was a lovely, idyllic hill scene with a crystal blue lake and wind-swept grass, but at the top of the hill was a shirtless Indian astride a horse with a spear in hand. She was eccentric, but who was she to talk about that, a woman revivalist and faith healer? It seemed eccentricness ran in the family. All in all, Ruth liked the painting.

"It's a nice home you got here," Ruth complimented. "Are those roses from Momma's garden?"

"They sure are. The soil's just wonderful here. You spit a seed into it and you get it to grow. I think we could have made a real go of farming here, but your Uncle Israel said he was done growing things. If you want my opinion, the river's a lot riskier than the ground, but you know how men are. No offense, Kid."

"None taken," he said, doffing his hat with a small smile.

"Can I hold your sweet baby?" Aunt Dorcas asked.

"Of course, you can," Ruth said. "She's your niece after all."

When Aunt Dorcas stretched her arms out to take her, Mercy turned her head and tucked it against Ruth's shoulder.

"She's a little on the shy side, which is probably strange, considering all the people we meet, but I don't think she'll cry if you take her."

Ruth proved to be right and her aunt commented, "Stranger still considering her mother. I remember you liked to babble all day long when you were a baby."

"That hasn't changed much," Kid said with amusement.

Ruth kicked his shoe good-naturedly.

Aunt Dorcas didn't seem to notice. "And you never met a stranger. But then I guess the Good Lord makes us all different. Variety is the spice of life and all that."

"It's a nice view of the river you have," Kid said.

"It makes me nervous to tell you the truth. The locals still talk about a flood they had 5 years ago. Nearly all the buildings by the river were destroyed. But they say a flood like that only comes once every 100 years or so, so maybe I won't live to see another."

Mercy dropped her doll again and wanted down to get it. Aunt Dorcas set her down on the floor. "You remember I mentioned the mysterious situation?"

"Of course," Ruth answered.

Aunt Dorcas pulled a clipping from a newspaper put out a couple months ago from her sewing basket and passed it to her.

Ruth read it out loud. "A young woman by the name of Emily Copin was murdered on Pine Road by unknown person after dark. Ladies are advised to stay at home after sunset or be in the company of a male escort if she must be out." Ruth passed the article to Kid. "That's just terrible, Aunt Dorcas. I'll pray for her family, but what do you think Kid can do about it? He normally hunts down folks who are known or people with descriptions."

Rather than answer she gave her 2 more clippings just like it. Blurbs that mentioned the young women's names but nothing about the killer.

"Oh, this is a tragedy," Ruth said. "3 murders?"

"You don't know the half of it. What the paper doesn't tell you is that the women all had something in common. And I don't think the city marshal or his deputy is at all interested in finding their killer because the women were all ladies of the night. But if you ask me, that doesn't mean they have the right to be murdered. After all, they're somebody's daughter. And certainly the murderer doesn't have a right to go free. I know how you and Kid have a soft spot for such women from your letters, ministering to them and all, so I immediately thought of your husband."

"Up," Mercy said, having crawled over to her mother. She was lifting her hands up in the air. Ruth picked her up, mulling over the information.

Kid's face had become unreadable to most, but Ruth recognized the set of his jaw and the glint in his eyes. He was going to do everything in his power to find the killer. "Well," he said, "I am interested in finding him."


	2. Chapter 2

Aunt Dorcas looked pleased that he was going to try and solve the mystery. "Oh, good. Those girls need a champion."

"Well, I don't know about that," Kid said, "but I'm going right down there to see what I can find out. You wouldn't happen to know where exactly the girls worked, would you? I'm sure in a city this size, there's more than one saloon."

"Oh, goodness me, no. I've never been to Pine Street myself."

"Well, no matter. I'll find it out soon enough. It's bound to be getting a lot of talk down there even if it's not getting a lot of coverage by the paper."

"Gives me chill bumps thinking of you getting involved though," Aunt Dorcas said. "I hope I'm not sending you straight into the arms of danger."

"Nothing I can't handle and it sounds like I don't fit the killer's targets anyway. It may be too late since somebody might've already seen our wagon or I may even run into someone who can identify me, but just don't go mentioning my name around. People are more likely to talk to me if they don't know who I am."

"Of course," Aunt Dorcas agreed.

He stood up and the ladies followed suit.

"I'll be back as soon as I can," Kid said to Ruth.

She forced a smile she didn't feel. "I know you will."

He kissed Mercy's forehead, still in her mother's arms, and then Ruth. Then got directions from Aunt Dorcas.

sss

Ruth was helping her aunt make a cherry pie for after dinner. She mixed, rolled, and spooned while Mercy napped, but her mind was elsewhere. She was so distracted that the pie was almost a complete surprise when it came out of the oven.

It was a perfectly latticed pie crust, courtesy of her aunt. The vibrant red cherries and the golden brown crust could have come out of one of her paintings, it was that faultless. It was as if anything her aunt touched turned to gold like King Midas. Ruth could make food tasty, but she could never get it looking that pretty.

"You and Uncle Israel should've opened a pie shop."

Aunt Dorcas shrugged off the compliment. "Then when would I have time to paint? Besides, I couldn't've done it without you. You cut my workload in half, a mercy to my back I assure you. Don't get old, Ruth."

She gave a little smile. "I'll do my best."

"You fretting about Kid?" she asked, taking note of Ruth's far away look.

"Yeah. I know he can take care of himself, but we're talking about a person who's murdered more than once without getting caught. How can I not fret about that?"

"It's hard I know."

"And how is he going to get the girls to talk?"

"Well, he is a handsome boy. That can loosen tongues."

"Maybe. Or freeze them. And it's been almost 5 hours. I'm worried. He ain't going to like it, but I have to know he's okay. Will you watch Mercy for me?"

"Of course I will, but do you think it's safe for you to go there?"

"I ain't no saloon girl and it's broad daylight. I shouldn't have any trouble."

"Take one of Israel's pistols," Aunt Dorcas advised.

Ruth almost started to protest, but she could see her point with a murderer running loose. She had been at the mercy of a crazy man once before and it wasn't an experience she was looking to repeat. She hid the pistol in her reticule after Aunt Dorcas retrieved it for her.

"If you were a still a youngen, I'd forbid you to go, but you're a grown woman. Just don't do anything foolish, and for heaven's sake, be back before dark. Think of your little daughter."

"I won't be foolish and I will be careful. Now don't you go worrying about me. I've spent plenty of time in saloons."

"That somehow doesn't reassure me," Aunt Dorcas said dryly.

Ruth laughed and kissed her aunt's cheek and her sleeping baby's.

sss

It was one of four other taverns. She'd ducked inside everyone but this one. The sign above said Last Chance Saloon, an ironic name considering.

Bright, happy music poured out its door and an angelic voice, belonging to one of the girls, sang a bawdy song. Kid had to be inside this one, but a man leaned up against its door, blocking entry. Pushing her way past wasn't an option. She had to talk her way by.

"Hello. I'm Sister Ruth," she said in a friendly manner.

"Rufus." He didn't look open to talking if his body language was any indicator. He was still looking through her, puffing his cigar, his arms remained folded against his chest.

"I'm looking for a man."

"Might've known. Drunk husband I assume. Can't help you. Now if you were looking for a woman, the story might've been different."

She ignored his coarse stab at humor. "Actually I might be. I'm looking for somebody who knew Emily Copin. A friend maybe." It was a risky question, but it seemed like a great opening to ask.

"You her sister or something?"

"No. Not really."

"Then what do you know about Emily?" he asked, his voice taking on a harsher tone.

"Nothing," she admitted. "Just what I seen in the paper is all."

"Then what do you care?"

"I care and it seems like to me as they're one of your main sources of income, you ought to care too and be doing more to ensure their safety."

"You think I like my girls getting killed? I've begged the city marshal and the mayor to get involved in this, but those self-righteous snots think any trouble Pine Street has, we've brought it on ourselves. I care and what's more I just hired me a man to get to the bottom of it."

"Really? Who?" She had a feeling it might have been Kid.

"Like I'm going to tell you. Go bother somebody else, lady."

"A tall man with dark hair and a scar on his right jaw?"

"Just who are you anyway?"

That was a yes and that also assured her he was doing just fine. It had been silly to come check up on him, but 5 hours was a long time in a situation like this. "Nobody important."

"Sister Ruth. You're Kid Cole's wife. I kept thinking I heard your name before. I recognized him right away from a description a friend of mine give who's seen him."

"He'll do real good for you. You can bet on that."

"No doubt he's a good man to have in a fight. Sharp too or he wouldn't have lived this long, but he's not a people person. I've watched him in there the past few hours. He just can't get people talking, too direct, and getting people talking is needed more than anything." It hit him how much talking he'd been doing. She'd goaded and sweet talked in all the right places. "But you seem to know your way around the art of conversation. If you were helping him, I think we could get to the killer faster."

"Wouldn't people wonder what a woman like me was doing in there? It's be hard for them to get over that. I think Kid's better off doing this alone as much as I'd like to be where I can assure myself he's okay."

"Not if you were just another harlot."

Sister Ruth's mouth fell open. "I'm a god-fearing woman. I don't know wha-"

"Don't go getting your drawers in a knot. I can see you are from your Bible, but 2 people working on this thing is better than one, ain't it? You wouldn't have to perform any of the duties in the back. Just be out here in the front. You can keep a good eye on the girls that way and they'd be more likely to open up to another skirt, wouldn't they? I've asked them if they noticed anything wrong with the 3 girls that died. They were all mine, you see, and I asked them if they noticed any weird-looking characters, but females talk more to each other I've noticed about certain things."

He echoed her earlier thoughts so well about whether Kid could loosen the girl's tongues and the plan seemed so perfect for accomplishing the task at hand, but she hesitated. "I don't know that my husband would like it. I need to pray on this and talk it over with him first."

"While another girl dies? You want that on your conscience?"

Time was of the essence and it made sense that she could find out more dressed as a saloon girl. And not that the idea thrilled her, but maybe she could even lure out the killer for Kid to capture. "Where can I change?"


	3. Chapter 3

Rufus took her around back and to a room. "This was Cora's room. She was about your size. You'll find her clothes in the wardrobe. Lou's room was the one on the right and Emily's was the one on the left. It's almost like he's working his way down the row."

She froze midstep.

"You have nothing to fear. None of the girls were taken from the saloon. It all happened on their time off. And the pink one's never been worn if you're worried about wearing a dead woman's clothes. I'll wait for you out in the hallway."

Ruth had her first what-was-I-thinking moment standing in front of the mirror after getting dressed. She had never worn anything so sparkly or bright or ruffly in her life. The dress was a soft pink with a scandalous red petticoat and a red chemise peeping out just enough to be seen.

Worse than the appearance of the dress itself though, her arms and parts of her shoulders were completely bare, the neckline dipped low enough to see beginning of her bosom and the hemline hit high enough to see half her calves.

But she hadn't put on the stockings and shoes yet. Maybe that would help some. The stockings were made from black lace and they reached up to her thighs. She tied them off with garters. She took stock of herself again and shook her head. Nothing could make showing her legs look decent. She put on the white kid boots with tassels next. Them she almost liked, but you could see the whole boot thanks to the dress and they pinched her toes just slightly.

Wondering if perhaps she'd missed something else she was supposed to wear, hoping really, she was relieved to find a black lace shawl that matched the stockings at the bottom of the wardrobe. She quickly grabbed it and put it on. Now, at least, her arms were covered down to her elbows and if she held the shawl in front of her, she could hide her bust. Feeling a little less naked, she went out into hallway.

"Not bad," Rufus said after a passing glance, "but saloon girls don't normally carry a Bible around with them."

"No, I don't reckon they do, do they?" She'd never been inside a saloon without one. She felt about it the way Kid felt about his gun, but she reminded herself that the Lord was her shield and she had hid His word in her heart. She put her right hand on the top as if she was trying to absorb the whole of its contents before she had to put it down. "I'll leave it in the room then."

"And you're going to have to lose the shawl. That's for outside use only."

"Lord, forgive me," she said, removing and bunching the shawl up rather reluctantly. "Anything else?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. Something needs to be done about your hair and you need some color on your face."

Ruth had been powdered in Boston by a maid, but that was the extent of her knowledge on makeup. And a simple bun or a braid was the only way she'd ever done her hair. She had no idea what he wanted or how to accomplish it.

He must have known that or saw the look on her face. "I'll have one of the girls come in and help you. I've been away from the bar long enough."

Ruth went back into the room and put her Bible with her old clothes. She didn't have to wait long.

A woman in her early 20s with honey blonde hair and a blue dress came in. "Hello. I'm Lucy." She said it with a friendly fashion.

Although Ruths were a dime a dozen, she'd rather not have her name associated with anything like this and hers and Kid's names were linked. People could put 2 and 2 together like Rufus had done. It would be better to make one up. No time to think, she said the first name that popped into her head. "May. I'm May."

Lucy went straight to taking down and wetting Ruth's hair. She tied up pieces with rags and pins. She didn't say a word to her as she worked.

Lucy was also quiet as she powdered her up, applied rouge and lipstick, and put this awful goop made from wax and soot onto her eyelashes. The makeup felt thick and disgusting. Ruth thought she looked garish and clownish in it when it was done, it was no light/natural job, but some men must have found it appealing or they wouldn't bother with all this mess.

Though her hair was still damp, Lucy took it down again. Ruth had wide ringlets now. Lucy put up some of her hair, but let the ringlets hang down. It was a pretty hairdo, but terribly immodest.

"I knew your hair would take a curl good and fast. It's so thick and wavy. Mine won't hold a curl for nothing. An hour later and it's straight as a stick again." Lucy didn't sound envious just admiring.

"But yours is such a nice color and more manageable too, I imagine."

"Nice of you to say. Well, I'm all finished. You can go out to the bar now."

"I appreciate your help," Ruth said, meaning it but stalling too.

"No problem, we look out for each other here. Welcome to the Last Chance Saloon."

Ruth smiled thinly. Suddenly she was feeling very sick, but she was in for a penny, in for a pound now.

"It's normal to be nervous at first, but it ain't such a bad life once you get used to it," Lucy said.

Ruth opened her mouth to say God wanted better for His children but then shut it again. It was going to be hard clamping down on her evangelizing. It came as natural as breathing to her, but she was going to have to try until this was all over.

"Come on, May. I got to get back out there myself. I'll walk with you."

Ruth followed Lucy into the bar section of the saloon. It was like any other saloon. If you'd seen one, you'd practically seen them all. Dressed as she was though, the men seemed a little meaner and the sounds a little harsher. She took a deep breath. "The Lord is my strength," she said to herself.

She spotted Kid immediately, but he hadn't spotted her yet. She figured she better let him see her now rather than later. Either way, this wasn't going to be easy, but it provided a good chance to get the hang of acting like a saloon girl.

He was deep in a game of cards and didn't notice her sidle up behind him. She murmured seductively in his ear, "Have a drink with me?"

He knew her voice immediately and he whipped around to look at her, his cards falling exposed on the table, but he wasn't at all prepared for her appearance. His flimsy chair tipped sideways and he spilled out onto the floor, but he didn't even seem to notice as he looked up in sheer disbelief. "What in tarnation? Have you lost your dadburn mind?"


	4. Chapter 4

She wanted to berate him for his language, but it wasn't the time nor the place. "I'm sorry, sir. Did I scare you?" She emphasized the sir to let him know he wasn't supposed to know her though she thought the dress and absence of her wedding ring had made it clear enough.

"You didn't scare me, baby," called one of the men from another table. "Why don't you come have a drink with me?"

She ignored the comment and Kid took the hint she'd given him to act like he didn't know her. "I think I'd like to have that drink."

"I figured you might. Pick out a table and I'll bring the drinks."

His card buddies far from upset, hooped and hollered and made general monkeys out of themselves as way of showing their congratulations. Except one, a small-framed, dark-haired man, who looked as if he were disappointed by Kid's choice of a woman over cards.

While Kid sought out the furthest table, Ruth went up to the bar.

"2 sarsaparillas, please," she said to Rufus, who was now working behind the bar.

"What do you think this is, some kind of dandified, sissified parlor? We only serve the hard stuff." He gave her 2 shot glasses filled with amber-colored liquid.

"You know," she whispered so no one else could hear. "I don't drink and I don't plan to start now."

Rufus whispered right back. "I'll let you in on a little secret. None of my girls do. It's just cold tea. You think they're much good to me soused? My prime source of income is the whiskey they sell to customers. And since he's working for me at the moment, his is nothing but cold tea too."

Ruth took note of the 2 saloon girls she hadn't met yet as she walked over to join Kid. One was a tall woman with dark brown hair and wide brown eyes, reminding her somewhat of a hawk from the sharp way she was watching her. The other was a raven-haired, hazel-eyed beauty with a full figure and a vivaciousness about her; she was entertaining an entire table of men.

Ruth set the glasses down on the table and sat down right beside him, so they could keep their voices low. His eyes were not on her face but on her chest. He looked shocked, angry, and turned on all at the same time.

"You know, I feel self-conscious enough without you staring at me like that," she told him, taking a sip of the tea.

"I'm sorry, but it's a very big distraction. You know you ain't exactly dressed like a schoolmarm, don't you?"

"I'm aware of that, yes."

"And that others can see you like this? Other men?"

"Unfortunately, yes, but it's what the girls wear and I've seen fancy society ladies show just as much up top. I don't personally like it, but I think the Lord understands the need in this situation."

"The need? Just what exactly do you call yourself doing anyhow?"

"I'm helping you feel people out and folks will talk to me like this in ways they wouldn't if I was just plain old Sister Ruth. And just so you know, I'm going by May. Is there any name I should know about?"

All Kid had on besides his shirt was his vest. It was too hot and sticky outside for a jacket, but he wished he had one now, so he could cover her and block the lusty stares she was receiving from other men. "Well, May, I appreciate that you want to help, but I have this under control."

"Really? You know who did it?"

"No, but I'm working on it."

"Have you talked to the girls yet? They're the ones most likely to know something worth knowing about. Maybe they even got some ideas on who done it. Could save you some time."

"I know. I just haven't got around to them yet, but I will. I'm scouting out my own suspects first. The guy's got to be a regular. I'm finding out who the regulars are."

"Can't you see my newfound position makes it as easy as can be to talk to them? Suspicion is going to get raised if you're asking them questions. They're going to want to know why you're so interested, but as a girl in the same saloon, of course I'd want to know what happened to them."

He wanted to argue, but she had made a good point. And he was well aware that he lacked the patience and finesse to get people to open up about private matters. His main tactic was intimidation, which wasn't always helpful. He was considering letting her assist.

She saw she was making headway and continued while his defenses were down, "I can be a big help to you this way. I can even attract the attention of the killer. Lure him out of the woodwork to make him easy for you to capture."

That was the wrong thing to say. She saw it from the way his temples throbbed in telltale anger. He was going to raise his voice to tell her what he thought of that idea and ruin everything, so she cut him off by practically jumping in his lap and kissing him hard. She didn't ease up until she felt him let go of some of the tension.

He was breathing hard when she pulled away, partly from the sudden lack of oxygen and partly because he still wasn't too happy with the situation.

"Let's talk about this in a more private situation," she said in a whisper that made it look like she was whispering sweet nothings in his ear, further fueling that idea to observers by tucking his hair behind his enticingly and gently blowing around his ear.

His teeth were still gritted from her last suggestion. She really had lost her mind if she thought he was going to let her be used as bait, but he got out a terse, "Let's."

He started to follow her to her room, but Rufus blocked his way. "Got to pay first, Mr. Williams."

He had to pay to talk with his own wife? That didn't improve his mood, but he dug into his pocket for the money. He sincerely hoped this was just for show or he was going to have a bone to pick with Rufus later.

Behind a closed, fairly soundproof door, she told him, "Well, as long as you paid for me, you might as well take me. You only have an hour, I believe." She flounced and shook like one of the girls out there might have done to attract the attention of potential customers. She was trying to get a laugh out of him, but he wasn't having it.

"I find nothing funny about this situation. You just reminded me why you're going to get your clothes on and go back to your aunt Dorcas'. Does she know about this crazy scheme of yours?"

"She knows where I am, not what I'm doing. I'll get Rufus to get a note to her, so she won't worry."

"She's going to worry if you plan on telling her the truth." He spotted her real clothes in the corner and went and retrieved them. "And Mercy. You thought about Mercy?"

"I have and it's a good thing I've already weaned her. She can do without me for a few days as much as it pains me to be away from her."

He threw her clothes on the bed angrily when she didn't take them. "Blast it, Ruth. How in thunderation do you think you're to work as a saloon girl without needing to entertain the men?"

"Swearing at me ain't going to accomplish anything. Rufus'll look out for me. He said I wouldn't have to do that part of the job and I trust him. I know it's a strange thing to say about a saloonkeeper, but I've got a good feeling about him and I know he'll keep his word. He'll come up with some excuse if the men want to be alone with me and if he won't, I will."

"If they do? They will. You really think you can trust Rufus, huh?"

"Yeah, I do, and even without my good feeling, it wouldn't be much of a tavern without the women, would it? His main interest right now is finding the killer."

"You got me there. But he can't be your bodyguard all the time and neither can I. How do you plan on protecting yourself?"

"Prayer and I've got Uncle Israel's pistol in my reticule."

"Fine job it's going to do you with your reticule in here, and there aren't many places you can strap a gun of any size in a dress that clingy."

"Don't I know it. That's why I had to leave it in here."

"If you're going to do this thing," he said, indicating he was coming around, "I want you armed at all times."

"I will be and I'll make sure there's always somebody nearby to hear me."

"And if I say enough, that it's gotten too dangerous for you, you'll leave without arguing?"

"You can count on it."

He sighed in resignation. "You got garters on?"

"Well, I ain't holding the stockings up all by myself."

He pulled out his pocketknife and got down on his knees. He lifted her skirt up. "Here, hold this."

She took the silken hem and petticoat while he loosened the left garter and placed the cold weapon against her skin. He tightened the garter again, so that the knife was firmly in place.

"This is just backup. It's not easy to fight with and don't ever throw it. Keep it gripped firmly in your hand if you got to use it, but keep the pistol with you as much as you can; it's not only safer, but you actually know how to use it."

He had her practice retrieving it a few times while he watched and instructed from his knees. He couldn't help that he was very aroused by her at the moment. He wouldn't tell her how proud he was of her bravery as it would only encourage her, but she was one-of-a-kind and he was heated as much by that as he was by her current dress. "You know we might as well make this convincing. If we don't come out flushed and with your perfect hair, looking a little less perfect, they might catch on."

She smiled. "You're right, and it wouldn't do to come out before the hour's up either."

This time he practiced disarming her, pulling the garter that held the weapon loose with his teeth. There were definite positives to working so closely with your wife, he thought.


	5. Chapter 5

"Well, Mr. Williams," Ruth said to Kid as she traced patterns on his chest, "as much as I wouldn't mind spending the rest of my born days in your arms, we got things to do."

"If you would've told me this morning that I'd be keeping company with a saloon girl this evening, I would've said you were plum crazy." He ran his free hand up and down her bare arm.

"I'm not even going to dignify that remark with a reply," she said, getting up.

He watched as she reluctantly put on her red chemise and wriggled into her corset.

"I'm so glad we're at least allowed a corset." She turned her back towards him, so that he could help her lace it up.

"There are definitely saloons where they're not," he said.

Ruth turned her head and raised her eyebrows at that comment.

"Not that I pay any attention one way or the other," he added quickly.

"Nice save," she said with a grin. "I just bet you don't notice."

He got dressed while she touched up her makeup and hair. He also checked the pistol to make sure it was in working order, not because Ruth couldn't do it but because he wasn't leaving anything to chance where she was concerned. She put up the pistol again afterwards, hiding it in her reticule and then putting her reticule under her clothes, so it wasn't out in the open but still easy enough to get to in an emergency.

"It could be anybody," he warned. "Don't trust a single person, male or female. Not even Rufus. I still wish you weren't doing this. It goes against my better judgment."

"If I had my druthers, you and I'd be at Aunt Dorcas' with Mercy and the only thing we'd be concerned about is what we were having supper, but be that as it may, this is the reality. We got to help those girls, so let's just solve this thing as fast as we can."

Just before they entered the main part of the saloon again, Kid told her, "I'm going to get back to my game. There was a fellow playing that gossips worse than any man or woman I know, if I can just steer him towards talking about the murders, I might pick up something useful."

"And I'll see who I can talk up."

While Kid went to the table, Ruth surveyed the room for her best option. From her position at the corner of the bar, she barely got out of the way of a stream of tobacco juice. She took it with good grace though as she figured that was what she got for standing so close to a spittoon. She made sure to give the spittoon a good couple of feet after that, however.

Lucy walked by, coming to get some whiskey for a customer.

"Lucy, can I talk to you for a minute?" she asked.

"Sure thing. One of the men giving you trouble? It wasn't that Williams fellow, was it? The mild ones can be the worst."

"Oh, no, no. Nothing like that. He was a perfect gentleman. It's just I happened to overhear some of the men talking earlier. What is this about some of the girls that worked here getting killed? I'm new to Louisville, so I didn't hear about this before I took the job or I would've taken a job at one of the other saloons."

Lucy looked uncomfortable to be asked about it. "Now ain't the time to get into that. We got to get busy; Rufus don't pay us to stand around talking to each other."

She was right. She'd have to talk to the girls when they weren't working. It was the men she needed to talk to right now. "Okay, I understand."

"But I will talk to you about it at breakfast," Lucy said softly. "You do have a right to know what's going on."

sss

"How was she?" asked the man on his right.

Kid didn't know what he meant at first, but then when he did his blood began to boil. If they so much as tried to touch her or even said something particularly off-color to her, he couldn't be held responsible for his actions because he would pound them for it. "I don't kiss and tell."

"That bad, huh?"

Kid didn't care if they misconstrued his statement, in fact, he preferred it that way. Word would get around and she wouldn't get as many offers.

The gossipy fellow said, "I hope nothing happens to the new girl. They're dropping like flies around here. I was always fond of Lou. She had a thing for me."

This was the conversation opening, he'd been praying for. "I heard about that. Any idea who's doing it?"

"I got my suspicions. The bodies looked pretty gruesome as I heard tell: all bruised, slashed up, clothes ripped from their bodies. Who do we all know with violent tendencies like that?"

Kid took a drink of his tea from earlier to pretend he wasn't totally hanging on every word. He'd known for a long time about the practice of tea at most saloons. A girl just couldn't hold as much whiskey as they had to drink a night without it affecting their sobriety and he was glad for it now. He needed to appear to be one of the guys, but he needed to be totally clearheaded too.

"Martin Browne," agreed another.

The gossipy fellow looked at Kid. "Awful man, Martin. Got the ugliest temper I ever saw. We got a break from him tonight it looks like, but I believe he starts brawls just for the fun of it. I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find out it was him behind it. Not too pretty to look at either. The girls don't much take to him and I think he resents them for it."

That sounded promising. Kid had his first suspect.

sss

As Ruth stood there, still trying to decide which man she should talk to, Rufus came up behind her.

"Find somebody to drink with you already. It'll look strange if you don't and this is a business after all. I'd like to sell some whiskey if you don't mind." He handed her 2 shot glasses. "The one on the left's yours."

As she grasped them and walked, she wondered if she'd gotten in over her head for the umpteenth time.

She stopped at a table where a man sat alone at the table. She remembered him from earlier, the disapproving one at Kid's card table. He sat alone now, just listening to the piano music. He didn't seem the most likely suspect, but he did seem the least threatening. She was going to work her way up gradually.

""You want to share a drink with me?" she asked.

He opened his eyes and smiled. "No, thank you. I don't drink."

She laughed. "You're in the wrong place then, brother," she said but secretly she was relieved. She'd've felt like the worst kind of sinner enticing men to drink even if they were already drinkers.

"I'll still pay for it though if you sit down and talk with me a while."

"Sounds good to me." She took care not to mix the glasses. The color of the two different liquids matched so perfectly it was impossible to know which was which just from looking. Of course, this man would end up paying for both glasses as if they both contained whiskey.

He was watching her closely and not in a bad way. He seemed so gentle, so out of place. She liked the way he looked her in the eyes and made her feel like a human being and not a plaything. A rarity in this crowd.

The clear, melodic tones of a church bell sounding for an evening service interrupted whatever he'd been about to say and instead he said a little dreamily, "Nothing prettier than the sound of a bell calling folks to church, to the Lord."

"You are in the wrong place, ain't you? Waxing poetical about God."

He smiled. "It's a habit. I'm a reverend."

She looked at him in mild disbelief. "You're a reverend?"

"Sure am. Reverend Luther Thomas," he said, as he held out his hand for her to shake, which she did.

"Nice to meet you, Reverend. I'm May. So you're a card player too? I don't get it. Doesn't that go against your beliefs?"

"I don't put any money on the table and I don't take their money either if I win."

"No? Well, then what do you play for and why do the other men let you?"

"Oh, I amuse them, I think. A reverend who hangs out with sinners. I don't preach at them you understand. Just let them know that I care about them and sometimes that's enough. I believe the light of God will shine force naturally from a follower of Christ and people will be drawn to it and want to know where the peace comes from. And when they ask, I'm ready with an answer."

His different way of evangelizing intrigued her. She was usually rather heavy-handed with hers. She would have loved to compare notes and stories with him, but then she would give away her cover. "That's an interesting idea, Reverend."

"You don't seem like the other girls."

"What do you mean?" What had she done to make him think that, she wondered with a trace of panic.

"Well, you got your arm positioned so that you're blocking your chest for one and you don't have a worldly way about you: a hardened look or a sad gaze."

"I ain't no innocent if that's what's what you're driving at."

"No, I saw that, but who of us is? Whatever you've done though, the Lord'll forgive you, though your sins be as scarlet-"

"They shall be as white as snow." She couldn't help finishing the verse. She'd said it before she'd even thought and her eyes widened just a little bit, wondering if she'd given herself away.

He smiled gently. "So you have a Christian background. Not just empty words, you know. Well, it's getting late. My wife's going to be wondering where I'm at."

She was thankful. She was going to have to do better than this in the future or she'd never have people believing she was a simple saloon girl.

Despite the hot weather, he wore a light jacket and he put it on as he stood. "Hey, listen, you take care of yourself, May. More than one girl's met with an unhappy end lately."

"Oh, yeah? How?" A terrible thought crossed her mind. What if he was some kind of religious zealot, who thought he was ridding the world of sin by killing those poor girls? It seemed kind of fanciful, but as Kid said she couldn't let her guard down even for a minute. Everyone was suspect. His seeming kindness could be a cover, a mask.

"Not peacefully that's for sure. And you could easily be among their number."

She couldn't help but shudder. Was that a friendly warning or a veiled threat? "I'll definitely think on all you've said."


	6. Chapter 6

The rest of the night went without much success in way of solving the mystery. Kid won a nice chunk of change though and Ruth did more flirting and was on the receiving end of more flirting than she'd ever done in all her life. As she trudged off to bed just before dawn, she hoped that she'd never have to do that again, but the killer wasn't behind bars yet.

She hadn't been long in bed when there was a rap on the window. The flimsy curtain was drawn closed, so she couldn't see who it was, but fortunately they couldn't see in either. She went straight for the pistol.

As she drew the curtain back, she expelled a huge sigh of relief. It was Kid, as she'd thought, but you couldn't be too careful. She opened the window and he climbed in.

"I'm glad to see you're taking precautions," he said.

"I'm not dumb. Foolhardy sometimes in my eagerness to help maybe. Any ideas on who it could be?"

"Got one promising lead, a man with a pretty violent streak, but he wasn't there tonight. What'd you find out?"

"That I got a nice smile, pretty hair, and a good set of legs," she said sarcastically. Kid glowered. "Most men didn't want to talk about nothing but me. Except the reverend. He brought it up himself. Warned me to be careful. Didn't know what to make of it."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't worry about it too much. He don't look the killer type to me and I doubt he knows anything."

"Does anybody look the killer type? If they did, there wouldn't be any need figure it out. The police could just lock up all the 'killer types'."

"You're right, I suppose. Just need to keep talking to people. Somebody somewhere had to see or hear something useful. Something that will help us figure this thing out. In the meantime, we better get some sleep."

He got in bed with her and she snuggled close to Kid. She would've never gotten to sleep without him there because she would've spent all night thinking and worrying about the girl who used to sleep in this bedroom and the man who killed her, wondering where, when, and who he would strike next.

sss

Kid had to sneak out in the late morning the same way he'd come in. He promised to be at the saloon again just as soon as it opened, which was just an hour from now. 1:00 p.m. sharp. Ruth had slept with her hair up, so she wouldn't have to redo it. She put on the same revealing clothes from last night and found her way to the kitchen.

Breakfast was actually lunch in terms of the hour, and Ruth was starved since she wasn't used to eating her first meal of the day this late. The other girls were already at the table eating when she got there. Rufus must have already ate and the cook had cleared out.

"Hi, ya'll. I'm May. I met Lucy last night," she said sitting down to the small kitchen table, "but I ain't gotten a chance to meet you two yet, at least not up close and personal."

"I'm Amelia," said the raven-haired girl. "Good to meet you."

"Dahlia," said one with the brown hair and eyes, not looking the least bit interested in exchanging pleasantries with her, but then some people were like that when they first got up.

Ruth said a silent, unnoticeable grace. She ate because she had to, but the ham was still on the raw side, the eggs were dry, and the biscuits burned. The coffee tasted like water with black grains swimming in it, looked like that's all it was too.

Though she made a brave effort eating, her displeasure must have shown plainly because Amelia said. "You'll get used to it and it beats cooking for yourself. Bless her heart, our cook/laundry girl tries, but she never had an older woman to teach her how to cook. She's the daughter of a prostitute. She didn't want to follow in her mother's footstep, but jobs are scarce when your mother uses her body to make a living. Tainted but not tainted. Rufus took pity on her, so here we are. Sad for her. Sad for us."

That made Ruth feel a little better about eating it, knowing it was the result of a good deed, but it didn't make the food taste better. She'd devote the time herself to teaching this young woman to cook if she'd had the time.

"But how hard is it to fry an egg?" Dahlia complained. "She's been working here a solid month now. That should be enough time to figure it out."

"Mamaw Stewart used to tell me," began Lucy.

"We don't care what your Mamaw Stewart told you," Dahlia interrupted.

Lucy's mouth clamped shut again and Amelia tsked, "That wasn't very nice of you, Dahlia."

"Well, I'm sorry if I'm not in the mood for some down-home wisdom before I've had my morning coffee. My customer last night was a real pig and I don't mean his size, though I've seen men in better shape. You got lucky last night, May. You look like you enjoyed your tryst."

Ruth blushed. She wasn't used to women talking about sex so casually.

Dahlia noticed and immediately jumped on it. "Look at May, blushing like a virgin. Was last night your first time or something?"

"No, not even my first time in a saloon, but isn't there still such a thing as decency?"

"Decency was left at the door the moment you came in," Dahlia returned.

"Well, I do want to hear if someone is too rough," Ruth admitted as it could lead to finding out who the murderer was. "So I can do by best to avoid him."

"You won't have to worry about that," Amelia said. "Rufus throws them types out of here real fast. We only have to entertain one customer per night and only for an hour. And if we don't like a man, we don't have to bed him. So as far as bosses go, we could do worse. Makes us a little more exclusive too, so I don't doubt it's partly a business decision."

"He has to be somebody we've seen and know," Dahlia said seemingly out of the blue, but nobody had to ask her who the he was she referred to. "That acts real nice on the surface, but is hiding a whole lot of ugly on the inside."

Again, Ruth thought of the Revered Thomas.

"I know whose attention I'd like to attract," Amelia said cheerfully, changing the subject as it clearly made her uncomfortable. "That rich fellow. We don't get too many of those in here. I could talk him into marrying me if he'd give me a chance."

"In your dreams," Dahlia said with a snort.

"Well, at least, setting me up as his very wealthy mistress, "Amelia amended. "We can't all be married like you."

"You're married?" Ruth didn't mean to sound so incredulous. It was just rather surprising to her that a husband would allow his wife to perform a job of this nature. "To Rufus?

"Rufus?" Dahlia asked with a dry laugh. "Dumber than a fence post Rufus? Of course not. My husband runs a variety show: scenes from famous plays, singers, acrobats. He's off traveling the circuit now with the players, but show business is never a dependable source of income. One minute they love you and the cash is rolling in and the next minute it's not. I help us make ends meet."

She said it proudly, but Ruth felt it was a cover to hide how she really felt about it. "Oh. Do you have children?"

"What's with you being so nosy anyway?" Dahlia asked. "Why don't you mind your own business?"

Ruth was getting more than a little annoyed with her snapping at everybody. People getting to know each other asked things like that all the time. Whether you were married and whether you had children or not was hardly personal. "You must've gotten up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, but if I've said anything to offend you, I'm sorry."

"Oh, go jump in a lake," Dahlia muttered, leaving her half-finished breakfast, her body tight with tension.

"Sorry about Dahlia. Believe it or not, she can really pour on the charm when she wants to," Lucy said.

"And these murders got us all on edge," Amelia said. "Cora was a special friend of hers, so I'm sure she resents you being in her room. I'll go talk to her."

"3 girls in less than 2 months," Lucy said, keeping her promise to talk about it when they were alone. "But there's no reason to worry. We'll all be safe now. Rufus insists we go out in pairs now and only in the daylight. With you working here now, that'll make it very doable. It won't happen again."

"If the good Lord's willing and the creek don't rise." Phrases and expressions like that came out of her mouth unbidden, it was such a natural part of who she was, but Lucy didn't pay it no mind. People often uttered expressions like that without really meaning the sentiment behind it. "You don't have the slightest clue who did it?"

"I wish I did, but no. I don't think the other girls do either. That's what makes it so scary."

"Can I ask you something? Why did you become a saloon girl?" Ruth asked.

"Well, why did you?"

Her eyes widened with surprise. She hadn't expected to have the question returned to her. She'd almost forgotten that she was one herself at the moment. "I didn't have any other choice."

"Well, neither did I. And you know as well as I do, that there is no forgiveness for the fallen. It doesn't matter if you had a choice in it or not."

"So you were forced into this? A contract you couldn't read?" That was the story for so many of the women and girls she'd talked to.

She gave a humorless laugh. "No, I could read. It was an advertisement in the paper. 'Young lady with good references wanted. Superior wages and steady work.' Not a word about the kind of work it really was. I had to help my parents out. Nine brothers and sisters, they didn't need another mouth to feed. I found out too late what was wanted of me. Even then I protested. I was a good girl and I intended on staying a good girl, but the man was stronger than me and he ruined me. Well, there is no choice once you've been ruined, is there? Like Amelia said Rufus ain't bad to work for. At least, I got away from my old boss."

Every fiber in her being wanted to tell this girl better when she said she was ruined. Her head told her she shouldn't, that there was a danger it could blow her cover, but her heart told her she should. "That's just not so. God knows what sins are yours and what sins are not if people don't and anyway He loves you. Loves you so much He sent his Son to die for you to pay for them."

"I used to believe in that stuff too, but if God cares for me so much why did He let this happen to me? To you?"

"It's a fallen world and people have been given free choice. I know that doesn't always seem like a good answer, but one thing I do know is that He's going to set all to right one day. He allows sin for a time because of His mercy on all of us, hoping we'll choose to repent, but justice and righteousness will have its day."

She didn't say what she thought about that one way or the other, but the way she left the room said it for her.


	7. Chapter 7

It seemed too early to open but not in the city. A teaming city meant a bigger clientele and therefore meant more hours of operation. Bright, afternoon sunlight streamed in, but it was still dark inside in so many ways.

By the time, 4:00 rolled around, Ruth felt like she had tea up to her eyeballs, but she still didn't have answers.

She looked at the other girls. Dahlia's smile was as painted on as her face while she sat listening to some man prattle. Amelia was laughing and conversing with her customer; it was like she didn't even realize she was in a spiritual fog. And Lucy was so quiet and industrious; it was just a job to her, a job she didn't enjoy but was reigned to. Three different stories that had all reached the same ending.

She turned her attention back to the men, looking for someone she hadn't talked to yet. She found one and he was openly staring at her. Most, not all, but most of the men were happy simply with a little flirting but his manner said that he would not be happy with simple flirting and that he was also not used to being told no.

He stood out among the crowd with his silk vest, cravat, and gold pocket watch. This must have been the rich fellow Amelia had been referring to. "You have not yet had whiskey with me. Please, come sit down." His speech was very genteel and further confirmed his privileged background.

She didn't relish talking to him in this current pretense, but she couldn't avoid talking to him either if she wanted to uncover the killer, so she sat down. "Hi, I'm May. What's your name?"

He didn't seem to care to exchange names or even pleasantries. "I think a diamond necklace would look lovely about your neck. What do you think?"

Nothing the least bit offensive in the question itself. It was how he said it and the way he was looking at her neck. "I think that's generous of you, but I'm not much for diamonds."

"Rubies then. To match your exquisite ruby lips." This time he reached and touched her neck.

She scooted back a dab and took the offending hand in hers, so that it wouldn't be resting on her neck. "You're kind, but you barely even know me to be offering such extravagant gifts. Why don't we just get to know each other first?"

He looked a little alarmed by the prospect. Apparently buying women off had always worked before at least among the prostitutes he'd encountered. Then he smiled. "You mean in a more comfortable setting?"

"I mean right here. Tell me about yourself. What do you do for a living? How long you been coming here?" She leaned in and smiled flirtily.

Again, he looked uncomfortable and also a little annoyed this time. "If I wanted conversation, I could talk to the boring society girls. And what I do is none of your concern and neither are my personal habits." His demeanor changed once more. "Oh, I get it. You're playing hard to get, so you can weasel more out of me. Clever girl you are. You want more out of me than a simple bauble. Well, out with your price." He turned her hand over and ran his finger along the inside of her arm.

She was not only ill at ease by his touch, but it was plain he thought everything was driven by greed and sex. She could add him to the list of suspects, but no doubt he could buy most girls with his kind of money, especially girls who were used to being bought, so she didn't see a clear motive. However, she'd learned and had enough for the moment and it was easy to see she wasn't going to get anymore out of him.

She tore her arm from his grasp. "I'm telling I don't want anything from you. And as I understand the way this saloon works, I have the right to say no. I like to get to know a little about a person first and since you won't talk, we're rather at an standoff, wouldn't you say?"

He didn't look as if he was willing to let it go at that. He was about to say something else to her, but Kid had been watching the entire exchange, which was immensely comforting to Ruth, and he could see right away that she needed rescuing. "May, come here!" he called. "I need a good luck charm and you promised last night you would be one for me."

"I'm sorry, but I did promise. Maybe we can talk another time."

She went straight over to Kid before the man could protest. She perched against his left leg and wrapped her arms around him for balance, since she didn't put her whole weight on his leg. She was grateful for the reprieve; she needed a break. The evil in here was becoming suffocating and she felt ready to burst with holding back the message of the gospel to those who clearly needed it. She was not at all used to holding it back.

"Hello, Miss May," said the Reverend Thomas, smiling. He was at Kid's poker table again.

"Reverend," she returned. She absentmindedly played with Kid's collar as she spoke to him. "I still don't know what a man like you sees in this bunch." The comment was said playfully, intending to set him at ease, so that he would let something slip and it wasn't totally unfruitful.

"Maybe it's penance," he said lightly. Yet there was a grain of truth there too, she could see it on his face. The good reverend was definitely hiding something. Just what was he doing penance for? Murder? She sincerely hoped not.

"I wish you would consider what I told you last night. This road you're on only leads to death and destruction and I'd really hate for a fourth girl to lose her life." His warning was mild but urgent too.

She could tell Kid took him more seriously as a suspect after that little comment. "And what exactly do you mean by that, Reverend?" he asked, putting a arm around Ruth's waist. "You trying to get rid of my girl?"

"If she's your girl, why don't you marry her?" he returned gently, not perturbed in the least by Kid's question.

Kid chuckled. "Not a bad idea. Maybe I will."

"Don't I get a say in this?" Ruth asked with a grin.

Though she and Kid were smiling, they were far from a laughing mood. The other men made comments about let's just play and the game got underway again.

Ruth got lost in the game of cards, trying to decipher the draw this game had on these men and trying to figure out the rules to it, but Kid was carefully watching the players, the reverend most of all. He took note of their mannerisms, how they reacted when they lost. That's why it was natural that neither of them noticed the man who entered right away.

It was Ruth who spotted him first at the bar, talking to Rufus. "Robert!" What was her elder brother doing here in Louisville of all places? She was both elated and mortified to see him.

He spun around and took in her appearance. He hadn't recognized her right off the bat and no wonder in this getup. She watched the storm gather in his eyes right after the recognition.

He hurried over to the table and jerked Kid up out of the chair, digging his pointer finger into his chest. "You are going to see me outside! I'm going to-"

"I know what this might look like," Kid began calmly with his hands held up in a nonconfrontational manner, "but-"

"Well, if you won't go outside, then we'll just have it out right here," he said, letting go of Kid and rolling up his sleeves.

"Robert, Robert! I can explain. Don't hit him," she pleaded, tugging on his sleeve.

Robert totally ignored his sister and drew back his arm, landing a powerful uppercut right under Kid's chin, causing him to fall flat on the floor.


	8. Chapter 8

Kid wasn't out cold, or at least not for many seconds, but he seemed too dazed from it to get right back up.

"Help me take him to my room," Ruth commanded to Robert.

Robert's nostrils flared. "To your room? Why should I-"

"Just do it," she said.

He didn't look happy about it, but he picked him up under his arms and she got his feet.

Robert dumped him on the bed none too gently. "I can tell you one thing," he said, "you're going home if I have to tie you up and drag you there. If you needed money, you could have come home in the first place instead of letting your husband sell you like this. I ought to break every bone in his body for doing this to you."

"If you'll give me a chance, I can explain. Do you honestly think I'd dishonor God that way? I couldn't tell you out there because people were listening, but I ain't no saloon girl and you had no cause at all to go and hit him." She was eying and gently feeling where Kid had been hit. Nothing broken. It was just going to be one nasty bruise.

"Then why in heaven's name are you dressed like that and why do you have a room here? I know some things are probably done differently out west, but I know what I see when I see it."

"Some girls that worked here got killed. The law could care less about it, so Kid and I are trying to root out the killer. Me getting a job here seemed the perfect way and Kid's pretending to be just a regular customer, but we're both working to help the saloonkeeper, a fact the man knows, so I'm in no danger of having to perform the duties that come with the job."

"What? That's even worse. Leading you into that kind of danger. What were you thinking?" he asked Kid.

Kid had regained his senses and had been listening. "I don't much care for it either, but I don't think you know how stubborn she can be on some things and she's fully armed."

"What are you doing in Louisville?" Ruth asked Robert.

"Uncle Israel wrote to me about how much he liked his job. I thought since I'm a confirmed bachelor, I'd give Clyde and his young bride the cabin. Too, I figured a man ought to see a little more of God's creation besides his own backyard at least once in his life."

"Well, that explains that part, but how'd you know where we were or did you?" Ruth asked.

"Aunt Dorcas told me, but she didn't explain what ya'll were doing here. I guess I didn't let her. I wasn't there but 2 shakes of a lamb's tail. Barely even saw your baby daughter. I wanted to see you since it's been so long, but I just assumed you were preaching or healing."

Kid was rubbing his chin. "You pack quite a wallop. You could be a professional fighter."

Robert looked a little sheepish for the first time. "I'm sorry I hit you, but seeing my sister this way, I was more than a little shocked and I jumped to conclusions."

"I understand," Kid said. "I'd feel and probably react the same way if I saw my sister in similar circumstances."

"Why men think the world's problems can be solved by fighting, I'll never know," Ruth said. She'd been getting Kid a wet washrag to minimize and sooth the brising. The water in the pitcher was lukewarm. Ice would have been better to put on it, but the water couldn't hurt it.

"Well, women think the world's problems are solved by talking," Robert said. "Talk, talk, talk. That's why I've never gotten married."

"The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle," Kid said. "There's a time to fight and a time to talk. We got to figure out what we're going to tell the folks out there, so our story's straight."

"I might have messed things for you," Robert said, taking on a more apologetic tone.

"I don't think so," Ruth said. "You didn't mention either Kid's or my name. We just need a plausible explanation for what happened."

"I got an idea on how to fix it," Robert said. "I'll concoct a story of my own, a fake persona. One that'll give me a reason for staying and keeping an eye on you and the only thing I can think of that's reasonable is a jealous old boyfriend."

"What's wrong with just telling people you're my brother? Saloon girls have families. They didn't just appear out of thin air."

"No, Robert's right. A jealous old boyfriend would make people question your background less and give him a valid reason for him sticking around without being too much of a threat. A brother isn't going to upset with your profession one minute and fine with it the next."

The family resemblance was strong, but it was worth a try. "Makes sense, I guess," Ruth allowed.

"I'll tell them you threw me out, so you could doctor..."

"Mr. Williams and I'm May."

"Williams. May. Got it."

"And you and I met at my previous saloon in Charlotte," Ruth added.

"We'll give it some time before we come back out," Kid said, "so you can situate yourself at a corner and we can pretend not to see you. It'd be strange for us all to come out together and be chummy after what just happened."

Robert left to get the word circulated if the people even still cared. They might've done forgot about the brief fight. After all, fights were a dime a dozen in a saloon.

"Did your suspect from last night show up?" Ruth wanted to know.

"Not yet. He must not be too regular, but that don't mean nothing. I still do think he fits the profile the best. What was going on with that rich guy?"

"The fool wouldn't even tell me his name. He had just one thing on his mind."

"I could see that. I believe it's Kingston. His parents own some kind of fancy soap factory."

"How do you know that?"

"I'm not playing cards just to play. Men talk around the table without me needing to pry information out of them like you have to do. You just got to keep your ears open. I wonder why he patronizes here? There are ritzier places with ritzier girls."

"I beg your pardon."

"Not you. I mean there are girls that are even more selective about their partners and in finer surroundings."

"I know. I was just teasing. And what do you think about Reverend Thomas?"

"You were right about him. Now that your brother can help keep an eye out, I can feel a little easier about leaving you here, so I'll try following both him and Kingston when they leave. See what I can learn about their home lives. Talk to their families if they got them. That sometimes says more about a person than they themselves could or would say."

"I reckon that's so." Her countenance changed from serious to light. "As long as we're stuck in here for a little bit, teach me how to play poker."

Kid was surprised by the request. "What? Why?"

"I'd like to understand it since I'm going to be around it so much, but also I want to get my mind off things for a little while, you know?"

So he explained the rules and went through the various hands.

"Now how am I supposed to remember all that?" she asked when he finished.

He got a slip of paper out of her reticule and a pencil and wrote them for her in order of their ranking.

She took the cheat sheet. "Well, this ain't so hard once you memorize it. Mostly a game of luck, isn't it?"

"Unless you cheat, but there's still some skill in it like knowing when to fold and when to take a risk. The betting aspect is what most people like about it."

He took out his personal deck of cards and walked her through one game and then asked, "So you ready to play some real poker?"

"You mean actually place a bet?" She shrugged. "Okay. How about loser has to change all of Mercy's diapers for a month?"

"Those are high stakes," he said, pretending to think it over, "but I had a more fun bet in mind where everyone's a winner."

"Oh, really?" she said, shifting her weight to the other side to better hear his proposal and cocking her head.

"The winner gets to choose the article of clothing they want from the other player."

She laughed a short laugh. "That does sound like a more interesting bet, but is this fair? You've been playing poker a lot longer than I have."

"Sure it is. Women wear so much more clothing then men do. You'll last a lot longer."

"Not that much longer. Fine then. You got yourself a bet."

Kid got 3 of a kind and she had a high card ace. Ruth didn't have to look at the cheat sheet to know he'd won the first game. "Well, what do you want?"

"I want your shoe," he said without even thinking about it.

She grinned and shook her head as she relinquished one of her white kid boots. "This just ain't fair." He put the prize down by his feet.

She won the next round with a one pair. "I won! I won! So much for your game of skill. I told you it was a game of luck!"

"Is that very christianlike? Bragging?" he asked, but he was smiling at her enthusiasm.

"I'm just stating a fact." She deliberately made him wait as she scanned his body up and down. "Hmm, how about your pants?"

"Hey, I took it easy on you."

"Your pants, sir," she said, holding out her hand, unrelenting.

He undid the button and pulled them off. "You know this means no more Mr. Nice Guy."

"A nice guy wouldn't have suggest stripping in the first place," she pointed out as she put the pants behind her to act as a cushion against the headboard.

The game progressed and one by one they lost their articles of clothing until they were in a tie. She was left in nothing but her chemise and Kid was down to only his long shirt. She had a feeling Kid was being kind by letting her win for her to get this far her first time playing.

Neither one of them had laid down their hand yet. They stared at each other in delicious anticipation. Neither quite willing to lay down their hand first.

"I fold," Kid said suddenly, putting his cards facedown on the bed.

"You can't fold with only one lousy piece of clothing to go," she protested. "You must have one really lousy hand."

"Maybe or maybe I'm saving you from humiliation." He took and put the cards in her hand face down too and then reached for her.

She wasn't fooled. He may have been aroused from their game, Lord knew she was, but he was trying to distract her from looking at the cards. She pretended to give in, wrapping her arms around him and falling back on the bed, but after a few well-placed kisses and exaggerated moans, she reached over and picked up his cards. She moved out from under him and held them up in triumph. "Ha ha. I knew it. I would've won, you cheat. Talk about unchristianlike behavior."

"Okay," he admitted with a laugh, "you got me." He lifted up his arms in surrender. "You can claim your prize."

"I fully intend too," she said, reaching for the buttons on his shirt.


	9. Chapter 9

When Kid and Ruth had deemed enough time had passed, they back out into the main part of the saloon. Rufus called them over immediately.

"Who is that fellow really? I know he's not who he said he was."

"My brother. He wants to help." Robert was seated at one of the tables, watching them, which people wouldn't find strange from a jealous boyfriend.

Rufus shrugged. "I wouldn't turn down more help."

Kid took her by the wrist to get her attention and whispered, "I'm going back to my poker game even though it won't be half as fun as ours was. Try to take more care."

"You too," she said lightly touching his chin.

Ruth realized she hadn't gotten a chance to question the only one she could openly talk to about the murders, Rufus.

"Lucy told me the same thing you did how they all disappeared on their time off," she said quietly, as she watched him open a new bottle of whiskey and pour 2 glasses. "You still let them go out?"

"I haven't restricted them from it as long as they go out in pairs. I think he's too cowardly to come here. He wants to catch them off by their selves alone. Poor girls. I don't think it was a quick death for them because all 3 times we didn't find their bodies until that night. In different spots but always on this street as if to taunt the other girls and me. If I could get my hands on that murdering son of a-"

"Well, hopefully once we've pinpointed the killer, the law will decide to get involved."

He didn't look like he held out hope on that score. "Dahlia," he called.

Dahlia, who appeared to be an observant woman, sensed something off about Ruth. She watched her suspiciously as she retrieved the glasses. Ruth wondered if those skills of observation had allowed her to pick something up on the killer. Ruth had a feeling she wouldn't be sharing those observations unless she felt she could trust her and trust didn't appear to be something she gave up easily.

When Dahlia was out of earshot again, Ruth asked, "What exactly did he do to them?"

"Talk to your husband if you want to know more about the murders themselves. I gave him all the grisly details."

Though she didn't care to hear the details, it was important that she did. She'd ask Kid about it tonight.

"Meanwhile, I got a question for you. Lucy's our regular singer, but she's managed to get herself hoarse. Can you sing?"

So that was the pretty singing she'd heard. "Well, I do sing. Hymns anyway. But I'm nowhere near as good as Lucy."

"The men won't care. They like hearing the coarse songs and the looks of the female singing it more than the quality of your singing." He handed her some sheet music. "Familiarize yourself with it. You go on in 30 minutes."

"I can't sing this," she said, looking over the lyrics.

"I've got bawdier songs. This one's as tame as it comes."

"It's not the bawdiness of it so much. It's the message behind it."

"Oh, it's just a song," Rufus said dismissively.

"Words have power though." She sighed. "But I guess I better keep up the illusion if I'm going to help the girls."

Rufus gave a satisfied nod and went to wiping down the bar.

She supposed she'd better go tell the piano player what key she needed it in and then learn the lyrics and melody to this. She told the man she needed the key of G and then she planned to find a corner to memorize the awful words.

She spotted a customerless Lucy first, near her brother's table, and decided to talk to her briefly. She really wanted to make friends with the girl since she seemed the most likely to talk to her about the killings.

"I heard you singing when I first came. You sounded so angel-like," Ruth complimented. She held up the sheet music. "You got any tips for me?"

"Not really. I haven't had any fancy training. It just comes natural, I guess."

"I love a woman who can sing," Robert said, looking at Lucy with a smile. "I hope I can hear you sometime."

Ruth suppressed a smile of her own. Her brother was a natural born flirt. That was the real reason she suspected he'd never married. He couldn't make up his mind on exactly which girl he wanted because he liked them all.

"Thank you. You want to share a drink then?"

He seemed to realize then that maybe flirting with such a girl wasn't smart. She'd already gotten the wrong idea about what he wanted. "Oh, no thank you. I don't drink."

She looked entertained. "You don't drink. You're not playing cards. You apparently don't want the company of a girl. What are you doing in here?"

He didn't know how to answer. His eyes fell on Ruth for help.

"Oh, right." She turned to find another prospect. "How come you attract the good ones?" Lucy asked under her breath as she walked by.

"She can have you as far as I'm concerned," Ruth said, joining him at his table. "But I don't think she'd want you if she knew all I know."

"Funny. I don't know what I was thinking saying what I did."

"I was kidding with you about her having you, but don't judge her too harshly. Not every woman chooses this as freely as you think."

He looked at Lucy again. "She didn't choose this?"

"No. Far from it and now she feel trapped because people do judge so harshly. If you don't mind, I got to memorize this song. What have I gotten myself into?"

She studied it at Robert's table until she saw Rufus curl his finger for her to come up to the bar when the 30 minutes were up. They lacked a proper stage, so she stood in front of the bar.

She cleared her throat. All eyes were on her. She was used to that. You didn't bust into churched unannounced without attracting attention, but she'd always been full of the Holy Sprit, not singing ribald songs. Her palms were sweaty. She wiped them on her dress and turned to the piano player. She gave a nod and he started the music.

"I'll be no submissive wife  
>No not I, no not I<br>I'll not be a slave for life  
>No not I, no not I<br>I'll be no submissive wife  
>No not I, no not I."<p>

Kid looked amused by the song choice and it was a little funny she supposed, considering she was a wife. She hoped it wasn't true though. She knew she was no slave. If anything, Kid made her feel liberated. She hoped though that she was a submissive wife because that was what the Bible commanded of her.

"I'll not be a slave for life  
>No not I, no not I.<br>Think you on a wedding day  
>That I said as others say<br>Love and honor and obey  
>Love and honor and obey<br>no no no no no no no no no not I."

The men were getting stirred up at the sauciness of the words and she was putting feeling into it as well; she had to be believable. Now Kid was glaring at them all, wishing he could silence them without creating a big ruckus.

"I to dullness don't incline  
>No not I, no not I<br>Go to bed at half past nine  
>No not I, no not I<br>I to dullness don't incline  
>No not I, no not I<br>Go to bed at half past nine  
>No not I, no not I."<p>

Most of the men took that verse as an innuendo and maybe it was intended to be. She caught her brother's eyes and blushed a little. Robert still seemed as entertained as Kid had been earlier. She focused on Kid again as she belted out the last part.

"Should a humdrum husband say  
>That at home I ought to stay<br>Do you think that I'll obey  
>Do you think that I'll obey<br>no no no no no no no no no not I."

There was hearty applause after she'd finished and Rufus announced that the men could dance with any of the girls for the next hour if they paid a dime. He believed in providing entertainment apparently.

All 4 of them got dance partners, which was almost all the small floor could handle. They had to take care to avoid bumping into chairs and tables. More than one tended to want to hold her just a little too close for comfort.

Kid tapped on her current dance partner's shoulder. "My turn." Then he whisked her away.

He'd cut in on his turn a little too soon, but Ruth wasn't complaining and the man didn't look as if he wanted to tangle with Kid.

"I had to pay Rufus again for the privilege of a dance," Kid said. "You're turning out to be pretty expensive."

"But I'm worth it," she teased.

"Can't argue there," he said, pulling her closer.

"What did you tell the other men about the fight or what did they say to you?"

"Just that I took the fall on purpose, so you could nurse me. And that it also served to make you not happy with your former boyfriend, so you got a good excuse not to look cozy with Robert."

"Good thinking."

"I enjoyed your song by the way, but this humdrum husband can testify that you most definitely don't stay at home."

He twirled her so she could see the table by the door. There was a short, husky man sitting alone. "That's Martin Browne in the flesh."

"He does look like he's got a chip on his shoulder, don't he? You talked to him?"

"Tried. I asked him if he cared to play poker and you would've thought I'd called him a name or something. He was ready to start a fist fight over it, so I let him be. I'm still recovering from the last fight."

"I'll ask him to dance. See if I can get something out of him." She was gone, out of his arms before he could protest.

"Care to dance?" she asked Martin.

He smiled and reached into his pocket for a dime. "Don't mind if I do."

She took the coin and he wasted no time in grabbing her. His grip was too tight. He was hurting her wrist. "I don't think you know your own strength," she said, hoping he'd take the hint to lighten it. He didn't. "You come here often?"

"Often enough."

"You-" she started to ask.

"I ain't much for talking, gal. I just want to dance."

"I understand. You come because you're lonely," she said it flirtatiously, trying to draw information about him out.

"I come here to forget."

"Forget what?"

"None of your business. You ask too many questions. You make me wish I'd danced with Lucy instead."

He knew the girls on a first name basis and knew their personality enough to know Lucy wouldn't be chatty. And what exactly was it he was trying to forget? Something sinister like the fact he'd killed the girls?

He wasn't anymore interested in talking than Mr. Kingston had been. Oh, well, it hadn't hurt to try, at least not much anyway. Maybe this saloon girl idea hadn't been such a great idea after all. She hadn't learned anything of vital importance. She had no way of knowing if she'd even attracted the attention of the killer.

His hand lowered from the small of her back southward.

Her eyes flashed in response. Saloon girl or no saloon girl, that was more than she could take. In his imbibed condition, it didn't take much to push him off balance into a chair, which was fortunate. Without that, she wasn't sure she'd be able to fight him off because it was easy to see he was used to using his muscles from his build. "Didn't your momma teach you any manners? The other girls may be okay with men touching them without permission, but I'm not."

He looked a little ashamed of himself for a split-second but then he just looked mad and was preparing to get back up again. "You going to dance with me, gal. I paid good money for it and I'll be hornswoggled before I let the likes of you cheat me."

Robert and Kid had made their way over and stood between them.

"If the lady says she don't want to dance with you, she don't want to dance with you," Robert said.

"And you got payment enough, I believe," Kid said, staring at him fiercely .

"She ain't no lady," he scoffed.

"She is to us," Kid warned, "and we're prepared to do whatever we have to do to protect her. Understand?" He adjusted his gun belt just in case he was too slow to comprehend.

Robert and Kid both took one of Ruth's arms and put some distance between them and the angry man.

After that little display, she had to agree with Kid that Mr. Browne seemed the most likely suspect. Kid had rescued her from a customer once again. She hoped she wasn't impeding him from finding the killer rather than helping.

"You and Robert are proof to me that gentlemen aren't a dead and dying breed though you might think it in a place like this." She caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Reverend Thomas. He was one of those who could quietly fade into a room full of people because of his simple dress, quiet manner, and his soothing, gentle voice saying goodbye was lost in the den of noise. "There goes Reverend Thomas."

Kid nodded, having already seen him. "I'll go see what I can find out about the good reverend." He looked over at Robert.

Robert gave him a subtle nod to indicate he would watch out for her here.


	10. Chapter 10

Kid followed and kept up with the reverend, which wasn't hard. He appeared to be lost in thought and walked so slowly that it wore on Kid's patience. He got to his house eventually though.

As Kid watched, a petite, dark-haired woman met the reverend at the door with a sweet smile. Through the window, Kid saw him pick up a Bible.

At least he didn't seem to be lying about being a reverend or having a wife, but that didn't clear him. It would hardly be the first time a minister had committed a crime.

Robert was keeping Ruth company in her room when he returned. Ruth let him in through the window again.

"How'd it go?" she asked.

"He is who he says he is but nothing really useful. The one I'm truly interested in following is Browne. It'll have to be another day though."

"I reckon I better be getting to Aunt Dorcas', so I can get some sleep and set her mind at ease," Robert said.

"Good night. Kiss Mercy for me," Ruth said.

Robert agreed he would and then she and Kid, alone, got into bed themselves.

"I want to know what Rufus told you about their murders," Ruth said.

"That they were brutally violated, covered in bruises, and their body had slash marks from a knife. They'd been gagged to silence their screams, but the way this place jumps after night, I doubt any screams would have been heard anyway."

She shuddered. He hadn't gone into the gory detail he could have, but that was enough to horrify her. "So we're looking for a man that carries a knife."

"A lot of men carry a knife. That's the problem."

"True, but at least it's something to go on. How can a person be so horrible to another person? I just don't understand it and not sure I want to."

sss

"May. May!" Lucy was saying after they'd finished breakfast that morning. On the 3rd May, Ruth looked up.

"Didn't you hear me?" Lucy asked. "I'm sitting right across from you."

She'd heard her. She'd just forgotten it was her name while she'd been pushing what was supposed to be a buckwheat pancake through the honey on her plate. She and Lucy were the only ones left at the table once again. "Sorry. I was just trying to gather up the courage to finish this."

"I was trying to tell you Tuesday's my day off and now it's your day off too. One of the perks is we can eat real food today."

"Thank the good Lord," she said, looking heavenward. "Just let me grab my shawl and pocketbook."

"You got more religion than any other saloon girl I've ever met," Lucy said, sounding amused. "Why you still believe I don't know."

Ruth went straight to her room. She was glad to finally be able to put on the shawl, but it didn't make up for having this deep décolletage and showing half her shin.

Lucy was ready and waiting in front of her door. She'd added a necklace and shawl to herself.

"That's a pretty necklace," Ruth said. It was a shaped like a figure 8 studded in diamonds with amber stones in the center.

"Thank you, Mr. Kingston gave it to me. Amelia will be jealous. I probably shouldn't have wear it."

"No, if he gave it to you, it's yours," she said, hoping her disapproval didn't show too strongly. "It matches your eyes nicely."

"That's what he said," she said, looking pleased.

She looked down at herself once more. The thought of going out in public dressed like this mortified her. "Can't we change into something more respectable for our outing?"

"Rufus wouldn't let us. It's free advertising for him to be dressed in fancy, revealing clothes."

"This world is completely crazy," she muttered.

"What?"

"Oh, nothing. Let's go before I lose my nerve."

If Lucy thought the comment strange, she didn't say.

Kid was waiting out on the sidewalk for the saloon to open up where Ruth knew he would be.

"Wait a minute. I want to say hello before we take off," she told Lucy.

Lucy went across the street to give them privacy, but she was watching them, so Ruth plastered a fake, flirty smile to her face and sidled up to him like her sole intention was to engage in coquettish behavior.

Kid was unable to tear his eyes away from her seductive smile or the way she knew how to move in just the right way to flaunt what God gave her. If she had wanted to choose a dark path, she would have been good at it. But he wasn't distracted enough to forget his question. "Where do you think you're going?"

"Lucy and I have the day off, but don't worry. I've got the gun with me and I'm going to be on my toes. It'll give you a chance to do your digging without having to worry about me."

Kid had seen her excellent marksmanship before but still he worried. "I don't like this."

"I don't either. I'm going to be on edge the whole time, but I trust God to watch over us and if it draws out the killer, well, that's the faster this is all over. You know how I feel about guns, but I won't hesitate to shoot if it means protecting Lucy's life or my own."

They were also leaving before anyone had even gotten here to see where they were going, which had to count for something. Maybe they wouldn't run into any trouble. "Be careful," he whispered urgently in her ear.

She flashed him one more flirtatious look over her shoulder. "Ain't I always?" And was off to rejoin Lucy before he could reply to that loaded question.

"You must like him to talk to him on your own time," Lucy remarked.

"He's a nice man. The sort you can trust."

"I'm not sure there's a man alive you can trust. Especially the ones who come to us."

"Well, it pays to be cautious right now. That's for sure. But Robert, the man who followed me here, is a good sort too. And neither were here when the murders started happening. You can go to either of them for help if you ever feel you need to."

"Good to know, I guess."

Main Street, where so many stores were, was practically deserted. Peculiar for a city this size in the middle of the day. It wasn't deserted enough though.

"It's disgraceful that people like those are allowed to go just anywhere they please," a young woman remarked to her chaperone.

"Judge not, that ye be not judged" is what she wanted to say. These women didn't know a thing about her or Lucy. They didn't know that she'd hardly met a prostitute who didn't long to be doing something else. She followed Lucy's lead though and just ignored them.

It wasn't just an isolated incident. Most people didn't say anything, but their cutting expressions and the wide berth they gave said it for them. She'd made a few enemies during her ministry because she was a woman leading revivals and because she was a faith healer, so she had thick skin, but she'd never been so openly snubbed by so many before a word even fell out of her mouth.

"You get used to it after awhile," Lucy said.

She'd never get used to running around half dressed, but she was more angry than embarrassed now at seeing what quick and harsh judgments people made. She knew what she was preaching on at her next revival.

Ruth's hair stood up on end. She had the distinct feeling they were being watched by more than just the occasional lecherous man or the just plain curious. She looked back to see. Nobody or at least nobody suspicious or that she recognized. "Where are we going?"

"To the river. I like to watch the boats. I hope you don't mind."

"No. Fine with me. I'm just happy to be getting some fresh air."

"A streetwalker," Lucy said, gesturing towards a woman on the corner. The woman looked to be of German decent by her fair features and dress. She was burnt red from standing the sun, but still she stood with the midday sun beating down. She looked painfully thin and dirty. "Let's go to the other side."

"Why?" She knew why though. There was a hierarchy even among painted ladies, but the way she saw it, every soul was just as scarlet and lost without the Savior to wash them clean. Ruth paid Lucy's protests no heed and went up to the streetwalker.

"God loves you." She placed a bill in her hand with no conditions attached. She just wanted to remind her that God remembered her and cared about her. That He would never pretend not to see her.

The mask fell away for a nanosecond to reveal gratefulness. "Danke," she said.

"Why did you give that woman money?" Lucy asked when she rejoined her.

Ruth shrugged. "She looked hungry. I can't stand to see people hungry."

"There are hungry people more worthy than her and look, she ain't going hungry tonight anyway. She's going to get work from that soldier she'd talking with."

Soldier was said with almost as much distaste as she had said streetwalker. "What's wrong with soldiers?"

"They carry disease. Officers might be okay but not a common soldier. Didn't you know that?"

"No." She didn't see why they'd carry anymore disease than any other freewilling man, but than thankfully she'd never had occasion to find out. "People are people to me no matter their occupation."

Lucy softened. "I wish everyone thought that way. About not looking down on people, I mean. I still wouldn't entertain a soldier. You are odd."

They'd finally reached the river. Lucy looked transported like she was imagining herself on one of the steamboats going far down the river and outrunning her past.

Ruth hated to interrupt her escape, so she watched the boats too. She saw the ferry that had allowed her and Kid to cross the river with their wagon. They'd forded and ferried their wagon across more rivers than she could count and she hated it every time. She didn't seem to get on well with the water since her seasickness and that time she'd almost drowned in a river. She always prayed hard to overcome her fear while crossing though. "Why has a city this big not built a bridge yet?"

Just watching the boats chug down the river was making her nauseous. She'd boated on the river as a child and swam in it often enough too, but that didn't seem to help her now.

"See that cornerstone?" Lucy asked, pointing out said stone.

"Yeah."

"They started to build one last year after years of just talking about it, but contractors can never be depended to finish anything in a timely fashion, can they? And this year, well, I'm sure you've noticed the lack of prosperity as we walked down here."

"It's not just Louisville. It's hard everywhere. Or at least it was where I came from and from what the papers are saying," she added.

It had hit St. Louis hard and in Virginia according to her parents. They had written they were going to diversify the crops next year to try and ride it out. She expected that was a major reason for Robert coming west, to ease their financial burden. She had no doubt that it wasn't the draw of the river or to see more of the world. Neither of those things had ever appealed to Robert before. It was more likely he hoped to send money back home and Robert being Robert just didn't want to burden her with the information though she already knew.

She was either going to have to keep walking or lay down somewhere or she was going to be sick. "Mind if we walk?"

"No," Lucy said agreeably.

They passed a woman with a great deal of children. It was plain to see they didn't get to enjoy many jaunts. They all worked hard from the looks of them.

"Look at that poor woman," Lucy said. Despite the pity there, Ruth also heard envy for their honest work and the fact that they had each other.

"Children are a blessing." She ached to hold Mercy. "I admire that she's kept her family together and hasn't had resort to our trade." She'd met many a scarlet lady who was a mother. Good mothers in a way because the only reason they'd become one was that they were keeping their children from starving. It wasn't like a woman raising children alone had many options without family to help. Rescuing women from this life was many times as simple as finding them another option if they weren't under a terrible contract and for those who were, well, sometimes she and Kid had helped those women escape too by hiding them in their wagon.

"Lou had a little boy. Went to live with some distant relative that didn't give a fig for them when she was alive."

"I'm sorry to hear that." And she truly was grieved. It made her resolve to find the killer even stronger. That poor child having to lose his mother like that.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I've worked up an appetite."

"I could eat. I saw a restaurant back there. Their pies smelled wonderful."

"They won't sell to us though. You got to know who will sell to you and who won't."

So she followed Lucy behind a coffeehouse. Again she had that prickly feeling they were being watched, but she saw no one. Lucy rapped a special knock on the door and a few minutes later, the man brought them coffee and muffins. "I'll pay for it," Lucy said generously.

This hadn't been what Ruth had had in mind when Lucy had said they would eat out, but it made sense that most places wouldn't serve them as it'd chase away their more respectable customers and even the ones who did wouldn't let them inside. After 2 days of eating at the saloon, the simple coffee and muffins tasted like manna though.

They'd barely finish the treat when a man spotted them. "Get along, ladies. You ain't going to get any business here. Go back to your own street." He was an officer of the law by the badge he wore.

Ruth burned with indignation. How dare he assume they were soliciting when he saw the coffee cups in their hands. More than that though, she'd come face-to-face with one of the men who didn't care there was a murderer loose as long as he didn't kill anybody socially acceptable.

Weren't they supposed to be protecting all the citizens? While she wasn't sure all of the things the Last Chance Saloon were exactly legal, certainly they weren't moral, the girls had a right to their services. He wasn't looking to debate though by the angry set of his jaw.

They followed his order to return to Pine Street, not eager to be thrown into jail.

They'd just gotten into the shady district when she got that feeling again and she looked. She was sure of it this time. Someone was following them. She'd seen a shadow duck into one of the alleys.

Kid had been right to be worried. Why didn't she listen more often? Overconfidence was a flaw of hers. Trust in the Lord wasn't. "Please, help us, Lord," she prayed.

She looked over at Lucy. "We're being followed. I think it's time to let ourselves get caught."

Lucy nodded while Ruth withdrew her gun. Lucy didn't seem surprised. In fact, she pulled a dagger out that had been hidden down the front of her dress. It was an unusual place to hide it but much easier to access than the knife at her thigh and in the snug clothing they wore it wasn't going anywhere like she worried the pocket knife might. She'd have to consider changing the location.

"Who's there?" Ruth called into the alley. "I have a gun!"

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she whipped around to find the hand belonged to Kid. "Oh, for heaven's sake!" she cried with a mixture of anger and relief. "You scared 10 years off my life. What are you doing sneaking up behind a body like that? Has it been you following us all this time?"

"All this time? No, has someone been following you?" he asked with a trace of alarm.

"I believe so and I think I saw him go in there."

"Stay here, ladies," he said, drawing his own gun out. "I'm going to check it out, but don't put away your weapons."

They couldn't have waited more than 30 seconds for Kid to return but it felt longer.

"Didn't find anybody, but I found something," he said grimly, brandishing a pocketknife.

Finally, something concrete. Perhaps the very knife used to commit the heinous murders. He put it into her hand to examine. The handle had the initials L.T.

"Oh, no. Luther Thomas," she said with a gasp.


	11. Chapter 11

"We think we've found the killer," Kid said in a low voice to Rufus when he and Ruth got back to the saloon.

Rufus' eyes gleamed. "Who?"

"Reverend Thomas," he continued. "We found a knife with his initials and whoever dropped it has been following the girls on their day off."

The gleam went out of his eyes. "Couldn't be the reverend. He's got an airtight alibi. Me. When Cora was killed, he was right here in the saloon and he's been here all day today. There's no way he could have been following her and Lucy."

"I'm disappointed we haven't solved this but relieved it's not Reverend Thomas," Ruth said.

"And not only that," Rufus said, "but he's been missing his pocketknife for awhile. He wanted me to let him know if it was found."

"We'll give it to the reverend," Kid said. "We don't want to give anybody the idea we're reporting things to you."

They turned away from Rufus after he'd given them their tea to make it look as if that were the reason for their being up at the bar.

"Does that mean the killer knows we're looking into this?" Ruth asked.

"Maybe. More than likely though he was just looking for his next victim."

"Me or Lucy." She could feel her heartbeat pick up speed and pound against her chest. She'd known becoming a target was part of the plan, but it was a whole different thing to find out you were succeeding.

"That's why you're not leaving this saloon again with or without your gun unless I go with you and I've half a mind to take you back to your aunt's."

"But we're so close. If you'd showed up just seconds earlier, you would've had him. I promise I won't go anywhere else without you. Believe me. And I think I'm safer here now anyway until he's caught since he knows what I look like. So Mr. Browne or Mr. Kingston."

"Or someone we haven't even thought of yet."

"I don't know how crimes are ever solved. I guess sometimes they're not, but they never really get away with it, do they? They'll have to answer for their crimes in the next life."

"Well, I plan on making sure he answers for it in this one."

"Now that we're sure it's not the reverend, should we bring him into our confidence? He may have some ideas on who it could be here since he was here at the time."

"I agree, but we can't both approach him. I'll sneak into your room. You get him in there and we'll talk to him there."

She gave Kid time to get there before she approached the reverend. She saw that Lucy had gone and gotten a drink on her own that didn't look like tea to calm her nerves. Ruth, though she didn't approve, couldn't really say she blamed her.

"Can I talk to you alone in my room, reverend?" Ruth asked. When he didn't look like he quite knew how to answer, she added, "As a minister, I mean."

"Well, certainly, child." He called her child even though they were the same age.

He talked to her as they walked down the hall after he'd paid Rufus. "You been thinking about God?"

"All the time, brother."

"You want to know how to be saved?"

"Not exactly, but it has got to do with doing the right thing." She opened the door for him to enter, which he did.

He saw Kid in the corner and his eyes widened. Panic crossed his face, fearing he'd walked into some sort of trap.

Ruth hurried to calm him. "It's fine, reverend. We both wanted to talk to you privately. We'd like you to help us out. You see I'm not really a saloon girl and he's not really a patron of the saloon. We're just looking into things to see if can find this crazy killer that's running loose."

He looked back and forth from one to the other, trying to take it in the truth of it. "You're working for Rufus then?"

"Right. My real name's Sister Ruth Cole."

"I've heard of you." He got a puzzled look on his face. "But I've never heard of you doing anything like this."

She'd been afraid he'd heard of her, but fortunately, he didn't seem the type who'd go spreading it around if she didn't want him to. "That's cause I've never done anything like this before. This is my husband, Kid Cole."

"Husband." He looked relieved. "That explains quite a bit. But then who's that other man? The man who punched Mr. Will-I mean-Mr. Cole."

"My brother."

"That explains even more. I can certainly see that now. You and he look a lot alike."

"We told you all this because we think you might be able to help us," Kid said. "You're around here a lot. We hoped you might have noticed something that can lead us to the killer since we can be sure now that it's not you."

"Me the killer? Why ever would you think that?"

"Cautiousness more than anything, but you said Ruth would be next if she wasn't careful and that you needed to do penance. You acted as if you were hiding something."

"Well, in a way, I suppose I am. I'm hiding from a calling rather like Jonah, I guess. I left Pennsylvania not on good terms with somebody. I feel bad about it and I know my anger with him was a sin, but there was nothing illegal about what I did."

"But you're doing good work here being a friend to sinners. Maybe God wants you here after all," Ruth said.

"Just because it's a good thing doesn't mean it's the thing God's called you personally to do."

"You're right about that," Ruth agreed.

"Ruth and Lucy were followed on their day off. We found this in the alley after their stalker got away." He held up the knife for him to see. "Look familiar?"

"My knife. Do you think someone's been using this to commit the murders?"

"Possibly or to make you look guilty." He handed him the knife.

Reverend Thomas pocketed it. "If I had the slightest inkling who it is, I would have gone to the authorities before now. I am watching though. It's nice to know others are watching too. But I'll be honest, I've never been the most observant person in the world and I try to always to look for the good in people, so I've never been very good at this sort of thing."

Kid didn't look thrilled to learn that. "That's okay, reverend. Just let me know if you do notice anything."

"I think we should pray about this. That God will help us find the guilty man and keep this from happening to any of the other girls," Ruth said. "I'm sure we all have been anyway, but I think we should do it together."

Reverend Thomas looked surprised at her suggestion. He was obviously still digesting that she wasn't a saloon girl. "Will you do the honors, Sister Ruth?" he asked as he joined hands with Ruth and Kid.

"Surely," she said, bowing her head and the men following suit.

sss

Robert drummed on his table, wanting to know what was going on. He could tell something was. If somebody didn't come and tell him something soon, he was going to play the jealous boyfriend card and find out what it was.

He saw Lucy walk past. She looked so tired, not physically tired, but world weary. He felt sympathy for her and he couldn't forget what Ruth had told him either about how it wasn't her fault. "Would you like to sit down for a minute?"

"This is my day off you know," she said, casting him a suspicious glance.

"That's okay," he said, giving her what he hoped was a welcoming smile. "I'd just like to get to know you better."

She must have believed him because she sat down.

Robert broke the ice by talking about his family, being careful to leave out details about Ruth just to be safe. He asked her questions about herself, but she carefully avoided most of them other than to say she'd come from a large family. It was as if mentioning who she'd been before hurt.

"Why hasn't a girl like you ever gotten married?" he asked outright. "Ain't anyone ever asked you?"

"Well, sure. You get the occasional proposal, but none of them have ever been from men I cared to marry."

"Well, maybe a good man that you want to marry will come along one day."

"And maybe I'll find a magic lamp and a genie can whisk me away to a palace," she said bitterly. Realizing he was only trying to be nice, she said more nicely, "It's just as well. I wouldn't be a good housekeeper. I'm a lazy, messy sort of creature. You should see my room."

Robert blanched and she reassured him, "Not that I'm inviting you into it unless you want to go."

"No, no. Not that you're not pretty. You are. It's just-well-there's May," he said not able to come up with anything better. Robert had never been tongue-tied with a woman before. It was rather disconcerting.

"Of course. I know you spent some time together last night, but I think she really likes that Williams fellow. I'm just warning you because I don't want to see you get your heart broken."

"I'll wait. We've got a history she can't ignore."

"That's real loyalty. A very rare quality." She had the habit of humming when she was nervous and she was feeling a little nervous now. Their conversations were taking some strange avenues.

"I know that hymn," Robert said. He began to sing the words and she joined him.

"The children of God He delights to bless  
>Are those who in His ways are found<br>Who love the paths of righteousness  
>Though sin abound<p>

Who reverence His holy word  
>And on His earthy courts attend<br>Who humbly trust in Christ the Lord  
>Them to defend<p>

From evil here and when they die  
>Receive their spirits to His heaven<br>To dwell with Him above the sky  
>With saints forgiven."<p>

There were more verses, but she'd stopped singing.

"My-May was right. You have a beautiful voice. The prettiest I've ever heard. Why'd you stop?"

"Lies."

"God can't lie. They're all promises found in His word."

"No wonder you like her. You remind me of her. It is a lie. I trusted Him and this is where I ended up."

"Bad things happen to good people. Look at Job, but you can't give up on faith. It's what gets you through."

"Don't try to make it sound simple like that song," she said, her shimmering eyes. "It isn't. And I can't change who I am now. It's too late." She got up and went on to her room since it was still technically her day off.

Robert ached with sorrow. This woman had touched him. Never again would he judge woman, or man, by their dress or occupation. That was probably a lie, but he would certainly strive not to. If people would just get to know the ones they were judging, maybe they could begin to see past their prejudices to the person God saw. He knew he was.

He caught sight of Ruth returning from the hallway with the reverend and got up from the table to confront her. He pulled her aside out of hearing range. "Just where have you been all day?"

His older brother protective routine warmed Ruth even if it annoyed her a little too. She was 30 years old. Perfectly capable of looking out for herself with God's protection, of course. "Even saloon girls get days off."

"Don't be smart. I know something happened."

Kid joined them. "We thought we knew who it was, but we were wrong. Looks like we'll be here longer than I'd hoped."

"Much longer than I hoped," Ruth added.

"You could give it up. Aunt Dorcas doesn't approve of your plan to uncover the maniac."

"I didn't expect she would, but assure her I'm perfectly safe and thank her for taking care of Mercy. Is she having any trouble with her?"

"Mercy's not crying or nothing, but she's missing you both something awful. She says your names a lot."

"I miss her too." She looked at Kid. "Could we get up early tomorrow? I know we'll miss out on some sleep, but I do want to see her."

"I don't see why we couldn't. I want to see her too."

Rufus yelling put a stop to the conversation. He was yelling at a greasy, swarthy man with a thick, black mustache.

"I take it you're not ready for me to buy you out then?" asked the stranger. "Well, we'll see. It looks a little sparse in here to me."

They had a new suspect to add to the list. It seemed extreme to kill just to acquire a little business like this, but men and women had killed for less.


	12. Chapter 12

Sister Ruth had to change into a lilac dress because a drunken customer had spilled his whisky all over her dress the night before. She hated to since it was one that Cora had worn, which would remind the other girls of her and why she'd had to take her place, but it couldn't be helped. She also hated that she had to wear it to visit Mercy and her aunt, but if she was noticed leaving and wearing normal clothing, it could raise suspicion. Of course, hopefully they weren't noticed at all, but it never hurt to be too careful.

Aunt Dorcas answered the door. When she saw her niece, she took her by the wrist and practically jerked her into the house. "Robert told me, but I'm not sure I believed him until now. What are you thinking going around town like that? Not just the immodesty of it, but you could get yourself killed."

"I'm making sure I ain't never in a position where I'm unprotected and I think God can only bless this venture. He'll keep us safe. Where's Mercy?"

"She's in the living room, spending time with her Uncle Robert."

Mercy looked to be enjoying herself on his lap as she was getting bounced, but she started kicking her legs and reaching her arms out and giggling with pure joy at the sight of them.

"I'll try not to get my feelings hurt," Robert said with a smile.

"You shouldn't. She normally doesn't take to strange men at all." She cooed to Mercy, who was in her arms now, "Oh, my sweet, sweet, baby girl. I missed you. Momma loves you so much." Ruth kissed the top of her head and held her close. She was a balm to her soul, the picture of innocence. It was a welcome relief after being around all the vices she'd been around lately.

Mercy didn't care that she looked different. In fact, she seemed to enjoy clutching the fringe on her bodice. "Don't get too used to that," she warned with a smile.

Mercy wanted to go to Kid next. She laughed with delight as he lifted her in the air. Then she wanted to go to Ruth again. She couldn't seem to make up her mind who she wanted, she was so happy to see the both of them. She kept going back and forth between parents until they sat down on the couch and put her between them.

Robert had brought Ruth her light, not see-through shawl to wear.

"Oh. thank you. You don't know how much more comfortable that will make me," she said as she wrapped it around her to cover what the dress didn't. She couldn't wait to go back to a neckline that actually touched the neck.

"Believe me," Robert said, "it'll make me more comfortable too."

"Now if I just had something to cover up my legs, I'd be good to go."

"I don't care about them," Robert said, sitting down in the chair across from the couch. "I saw your skinny legs and knobby knees at the swimming hole too much to be bothered by them now and you can hardly see that much of them anyhow."

"I'm fixing to wallop you upside your head in a minute," she warned with a teasing grin. "I happen to think I've got very nice legs. I just don't want the whole world to know it."

Kid smiled at the sibling banter. It made him miss his own sister and brother. He asked Dorcas, who had also sat down, "Has their been any more in the paper about the murders?"

"No. There was plenty of mention about Mr. Clayton though. Did you hear about that? The fool floated in one of them balloons over Louisville about 2 weeks before you got here. You couldn't get me to even stand in one of them baskets with it grounded much less go up into the wild blue yonder in one."

"I don't know if it's so foolish," Ruth said. "It'd be kind of interesting to be able to see the world a bit like God does or the birds do."

"So you want to go up in one? I'll see if that can be arranged," Kid said playfully. "I'm sure we can meet this Mr. Clayton."

"No, thank you," she said immediately. "I prefer to keep my feet planted firmly on the ground like the good Lord intended."

"Trains, balloons, boats that move by steam," Aunt Dorcas said with a shake of her head. "What will they think of next?"

"Can I see the paper?" Kid asked. Dorcas handed him the latest edition.

"It's an interesting age we live in," Ruth agreed. "You know trains are going to be wonderful when they lay enough track for it to be handy. Can you imagine instead of it taking months to visit family having it only take a matter of days."

"Knowledge increasing to and fro. And remember a few years ago? All them stars that fell for just hours as thick as rain just like Jesus foretold. You saw that, didn't you?"

Ruth nodded. "We had a spectacular view of it from our wagon. We were out in a field, so our view wasn't obstructed by any trees or houses. It was just beautiful and so awe-inspiring."

"And terrifying," Aunt Dorcas added. "We're living in the last days."

"Most likely, but God's time is not our time and there's a lot more signs to come to pass. We might see His coming in our lifetime, we might not. But only the Lord knows the hour."

"I bet the stars falling makes for a great argument in your revivals though," Robert said.

"I don't know that I've ever mentioned it before a crowd except directly after to ease their fears. Revival attendance did go up a year or two after that. People got short memories though. They soon forget to live each day like the Lord's coming today because there won't be an announcement beforehand. He'll come like a thief in the night. But nothing's terrifying about it if we're living like we're supposed to."

"You should've been born a boy. You'd've made a good preacher," Aunt Dorcas said.

"But the Lord's finding plenty of use for me as a girl," she said with a smile. "Men and women alike are called to spread the good news. Young and old were made to prophesy about the coming Prince of Peace."

"Some lady had her jewelry stolen," Kid said. "It says if anybody has any information on it they're to contact the marshal or the paper. They're more concerned over a thief than a murderer." With disgust, he folded the paper again and handed it back to Dorcas.

They spent the rest of the morning on lighter topics of conversation and playing with Mercy: tickling her, holding her up her hands while she bounced up and down, and encouraging her to try some steps, but she kept flopping over and giggling.

Crawling was Mercy's preferred mode of travel. She did it in a funny way with her legs ramrod straight but only when she wore a dress. If she was just in a diaper, she crawled the normal way. It was smart, Ruth and Kid thought, as it kept her from tripping up in her dress.

They spent too long visiting and barely made it back in time.

"Look who deemed to show her face," Dahlia commented on her arrival to the table midway through breakfast. "So where were you? I know you weren't in your room."

"You went into my room?" Ruth asked as she sat down.

"How was I supposed to know you hadn't been kidnapped or killed even?"

Ruth had to admit she made sense. "That was pretty thoughtless of me with everything going on. I expected to be back before breakfast. I'm sorry."

"Where were you?" Dahlia repeated.

Ruth figured it was better not to stray too far from the truth in case they'd been spotted, so she said, "I was with Mr. Williams. We went out together."

Dahlia snorted. "Rufus won't like that. Giving it to him for free. You look old enough to me to not go in for all that love foolishness. Not even husbands love you. They only want you for what you can give them, whether that's children or money."

"It's a shame you think that. I can see why you would, but love is as real as God. He is love." She'd said the words boldly and without thinking as per usual, but she wasn't sorry she'd said them. They were true and she'd felt moved to speak them. Trying to hide her light under a bushel was proving hopeless even for the good of a case, but Lucy still believed her to be a saloon girl even knowing she was religious. Why wouldn't Dahlia and Amelia too?

"I saw your Bible," Dahlia said. "Do you know what would happen if you walked into a church?"

She'd rifled through her things too. It was a wonder the woman hadn't solved the mystery of the murders herself. She could see she was baiting her. Sometimes the baiters only wanted reactions and the chance to try and validate their shaky, false beliefs, but other times they secretly hoped for an answer they could believe.

She hoped Dahlia was the former, so she answered, "Dressed like this. I might be looked down on. Maybe even thrown out of the church, but if I was, it wouldn't be God doing it. God sees the heart and He knows when I repent and then it doesn't matter how dark our past is. 'Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.'"

She humphed in reply. "You're a dreamer. I've got no use for dreamers."

"Well, the words are pretty," Amelia said. "I can see why people are drawn to religion, but it would mean giving up too many of the things I enjoy. I like wearing silks, drinking, and not having to work too hard."

"And thanks to you," Dahlia said to Ruth. "Amelia and I won't be getting to go out on our day off tomorrow. Rufus said it's too dangerous."

"I think that's a wise decision," Ruth said.

"I don't. I'm so sick of men telling me what I can and can't do." Finished with breakfast, she flounced out with Amelia going to comfort her again.

Ruth could see the parable of the sower illustrated so clearly in these 3 women. Dahlia's heart was so hard that the seed would fall uselessly in it for the devil to snatch away. She heard the Word, but she didn't understand. In Lucy's heart, the seed had taken root but not deeply and when life's hardships had come, it had choked her joy and faith. Amelia seemed the most open and receptive, but she was the thorny ground, letting the things of the world compete and win.

All she could do was scatter the seeds and hope it took root. When it boiled down to it, she couldn't truly tell the condition of their hearts. Only God could. Maybe the seeds would lay dormant and take root at a later date.

Lucy hadn't said anything, which wasn't so unusual, but Ruth noticed she also looked dazed.

"Are you okay, Lucy? You look a little out of sorts."

"Didn't sleep good," she said. The words seemed to take special effort.

"Why don't you go get some rest then? I'll let Rufus know. I'm sure he wouldn't want you working if you're feeling so bad."

She nodded and got up to go to bed, but she almost ran into the wall. Ruth decided to go with her and steer her to her room. She must not have got any sleep at all. She was dead on her feet.


	13. Chapter 13

Rufus didn't look too happy that Lucy wouldn't be working, but it wasn't so very crowded and he'd been getting by on 3 girls before Ruth got there.

As soon as Ruth had a break, she went to check on Lucy. She knocked on the door and didn't receive an answer. She was no doubt sleeping, but she wanted to make sure she wasn't sick, so she went in.

The bed was empty. There were no signs of a struggle, but in the condition she'd been in, she probably wouldn't have put up much of a fight. She checked the outhouse too. She was definitely not here and that left only one logical conclusion, Lucy was going to be the next victim. Why hadn't she kept a better eye on her after they'd been stalked yesterday? "Oh, merciful God look out for her. Help us find her before it's too late."

She hurried to get Kid. He was in the middle of a game, but this couldn't wait.

"You want to come play with me for awhile?" she asked suggestively, trying to keep the panic out of her voice, as she slid her arms around him.

One of the men guffawed. "That one just can't get enough of you."

"What can I say? Women love me." He got up and followed her to a private area, at least it was private if they whispered.

"What's the matter?" he asked.

"I can't find Lucy anywhere. She was acting really sleepy, so I left her in her bed and told Rufus she couldn't work. Now I can't find her anywhere."

"Did she give you any clue that she might have been in trouble?"

"No, she just said she hadn't gotten any sleep, but now I wonder if it wasn't more than that."

"You think she might have been drugged?"

"I didn't think so at the time. Now I think it's very possible that she was under the influence of something. She was drinking the night before, but it wasn't really drunken behavior she was displaying."

"Everyone else seems fine?"

"Yeah, I certainly feel alright."

"It must just be Lucy's plate that was tampered with then. You think one of the other girls did it?"

""I think that's unlikely. What reason would they have?"

"That leaves the cook then, assuming she was drugged during her breakfast and not before."

"Surely it couldn't be the cook."

"Only one way to find out," Kid said, turning toward the door that led to the other part of the saloon.

She pulled money from his pocket and tucked it in her boot since Rufus wasn't there at the moment to collect it. She took him by the hands and led him to the door in a backwards walk. She dropped his as soon as they were through the door and they hurried to the kitchen.

The kitchen was a room that they hadn't been in until now and Ruth didn't think she'd ever be able to eat another meal from it again. It was infested by ants and heaven knew what else. Particles of food or liquid were spilled everywhere it seemed from many different meals. It was a wonder they weren't all sick.

The cook was a plain girl, still in her teens. Her eyes were overly big, her lips slightly thin, and her hair was a mousy brown. She stood struggling over a pot of something. Most likely soup, but it didn't look or smell like any soup Ruth had ever eaten.

"We have something to ask you," Kid said in his typical intimidating way with his eyebrows coming together, his lips set in a grim line, and his voice low and serious.

For just a moment, the cook seemed to grow pale, but then she staunched herself. It was plain by the tight way she held her mouth that she didn't plan on giving anything away.

Ruth put a hand on his arm. It could be a softer approach was needed to draw the information out. "Honey, we're afraid something may have happened to Lucy. Was anyone in the kitchen with you this morning?"

"That's none of your business and why should I have to answer you? You're nothing but a common whore."

Ruth took a deep breath, trying to maintain patience. "Listen, Lucy could be killed."

"And I'm very sorry about that, but that kind of life always comes with a price. It has nothing to do with me."

The gentle approach was not working and Ruth let the anger she'd been holding back through. "How can you just sit back and let someone be murdered? Another human being?"

"Forget it. It ain't worth wasting your breath," Kid said. "She don't care about nobody but herself. Best get Rufus. Maybe he can get something out of her."

She was relieved to find Rufus back at the bar. She motioned for him to follow her into the hallway, so he did.

"Lucy's disappeared and we believe your cook either drugged her or knows who did, but she ain't telling."

He rolled up his sleeves. "We'll change that in a hurry," he said, leading the way to the kitchen.

"You know where Lucy is?" he roared at the girl as soon as he entered.

"No, I don't," she replied.

"But you know who's got her," Rufus said.

She refused to answer, but that said enough, especially when she folded her arms.

"I gave you a job that didn't require you selling yourself and this is the way you repay me? You've got your walking papers."

"Good. I wanted to leave here anyway," she said, throwing the wooden spoon carelessly into the pot of whatever dinner she had been trying to pull together. "I've got a better offer anyhow."

"Wait," he said. "You're not going anywhere until we find Lucy. And what do you mean a better position? With your cooking, not likely. No, you're going to wait right here and you better pray she's found in one piece or I'll be seeing that you're taken straight to jail. And if I find you had anything at all to do with any of this, you're going there anyway."

"They won't do nothing to me. They're not interested in what happens on Pine Street and it wasn't me that killed them anyway, so how can I be in any trouble?"

"You better hope that's not true about them not being interested cause if it is, I'll take care of you myself."

"You can't hold me here," she said, but she sounded a little more nervous than before.

"Watch me, Minnie girl," he said as he proceeded to tie her to the chair with the kitchen rags. He looked at the Coles. "I'll get this one to break eventually."

"We may not have the time for that. We'll see if we can't be finding Lucy while you work on her."

"Alright," Rufus said. Tell Dahlia she's in charge until I get back."

10 minutes wasted. They might have been closer to solving the mystery, but they weren't closer to helping Lucy. Ruth went to relay the message to Dahlia while Kid went to Robert, since he was able to watch the room with no distraction, sitting alone at the table.

"Lucy's missing," Kid said quietly, so the others wouldn't hear.

He burst out of his chair. "We've got to go look for her!"

"I agree," Kid said, taking him by the collar as if they were having a disagreement, "but if we're going to find her in time, we've got to be as calm and rational about this as we can be. We got to put some thought into it. You seen any of the ones we think might be guilty leave at any point?"

Robert didn't appear as if he could think straight he was so worked up. "Lots of guys. I don't know." A light enter his eyes as he remembered something useful. "That guy that was bothering Ruth during the dance the other day. I saw him leave about an hour ago."

Ruth had come over as if she were trying to break up their fight and had caught the tail end of that. Had Martin Browne taken Lucy? "He did mention to me how he preferred Lucy," Ruth said.

"But where do we find him?" Kid asked.

The reverend always had his ears open and he was the kind of person people naturally seemed to spill their guts to even though he didn't do a lot of nosy questioning. It was worth a shot to ask him. "I'll see if the reverend knows." She sat them down at the table together and said loudly. "You two quit acting like baboons and work your problem out!"

She went to the card table again.

"Reverend, the girls and I have a bet on what on what a certain scripture means and we're wondering if you could settle it for us."

"I-uh," he stuttered, "I guess I could."

She took his arm and started to walk away with him. "See, I think when it says 'I permit no woman to teach-" she broke off when they were out of earshot. "We need your help. Do you know Martin Browne?"

"Why yes."

"You know where he lives?"

"I have visited him once. He lives in a little one-room house down by the river. It's in sight of the cornerstone to the bridge that wasn't built."

"I know the place," Ruth said. "Thank you."

"He works down at the docks, a loader. He's got a-"

"Thank you, Reverend Thomas," Kid said, cutting him off. He'd joined them and he didn't have time to hear the Martin's life story.

The reverend returned to the card table and Ruth pushed Kid back to the table with Robert like she was still trying to get them to work out their differences.

"We know where he lives now," Kid said.

"Good. Let's go," Robert said.

"It wouldn't be smart us leaving together," Kid said. "And it'd be better if you stayed here, in case, he brings her back."

"Good point. I'll patrol the street and listen for her."

"You brung a gun, didn't you?" Ruth asked her brother.

"Of course I did."

"You know I'm going with you, don't you?" she asked Kid.

He started to protest, but she continued. "If you do find her, you think she's going to trust going with a man she doesn't really know? I can comfort her and convince her to come with us quicker."

"I'd rather have you in my sight than not with your brother out looking too," he admitted. "Okay then. Let's hurry. I'll go out the front and you go out the back and we'll meet behind the building. Bring your gun."


	14. Chapter 14

The day was gusty, which seemed to add to the ominous feeling. The wind was whipping the carefully-constructed curls out of Ruth's hair and making their clothes billow.

They wasted no time in getting to the river. Ruth led the way since she's been this way before with Lucy. There were at least 3 good candidates that matched the Reverend's description of the house, but they found a woman who was able to point them to the right house.

"Browne, you in there?" Kid called as he knocked.

"Come in," said a voice much too young to belong to their quarry.

Martin Browne was nowhere to be seen. There was only a boy there with sunken but luminous eyes and pale skin covered in a sweaty sheen, and he was much too thin. It could have been any number of diseases, but a when a cough brought up blood-tinged mucus, it was plain that it was consumption.

Ruth wanted to cry and some tears did escape her eyes. It wasn't just the thought that this boy would never grow into a man, although that was sad enough. It was the fact that this would be Kid's future one day. His consumption hadn't developed to this stage, thank the good Lord, but one day it likely would. It was a terrifying glimpse into the future.

"Does Mr. Browne live here?" Kid asked, softening his voice for the child.

"He's my father," he managed to get out before he was thrown into another fit of coughing.

"You all by yourself?" she asked, looking around, hoping there was a mother or some other caretaker hiding somewhere.

He still had the strength to get indignant. "I'm not a baby. I'm 11 years old."

"No. No. of course you're not." She was a little surprised by his age because he was so small, but she didn't show it so as not to injure his feelings any further. "But you're sick. Someone should be taking care of you."

She would've liked to stay and nurse him herself, but she couldn't right now. No doubt though if she told Aunt Dorcas about the situation, she would be able to find somebody to take care of him if Ruth and Kid had to pay for their services themselves. She couldn't stand the thought of him suffering or breathing his last here completely alone with no one to provide comfort.

She wanted to pray with him too. Pray for his healing. And she sent up a small one in that moment.

"You know where he is?" Kid asked.

"Working," he answered.

"Thanks." Kid turned to go.

"You need anything before we leave?" Ruth asked him.

"Water, please," he said.

He had a tin cup by his bedside that was empty. There was a bucket of water setting in the kitchen area. She refreshed the cup and brought it back to him.

"You at least got a neighbor or something you can go to if you need to?" she asked, not feeling good in the least about leaving him.

He nodded, trying to look brave, but she saw there was fear mixed in there too.

They left, Ruth rather reluctantly, and headed toward the boats to find out if Martin Browne really was working.

"At least I understand why he's so angry now," Ruth said. "If it was my child, I don't know that I could be very chipper either."

"Don't let sympathy for his son cloud your thinking. That doesn't make him innocent. I wouldn't even trust that the reverend was innocent if he didn't have a solid alibi. Can't use your heart in these matters. People are too deceptive."

"No, I reckon you can't," she said with a sigh. "I was hoping it was him, so we can find Lucy. Now I'm almost hoping it's not for the sake of his son. He must be all he has."

It was easy to find the one in charge because he was the one shouting the orders. Ruth physically hesitated on her way over, realizing she wasn't wearing the best clothes for questioning, but Kid urged her on with a hand to her waist.

"Sir, can we have a couple of minutes of your time?" Ruth asked. "We got some quick questions for you if you don't care."

The man looked annoyed to be interrupted and even more annoyed to see the "type" of woman that had asked, but Kid fingered the handle of gun meaningfully and he got the message and answered her.

"Just a minute or two," he warned.

"You got a Martin Browne working for you?" Ruth asked, taking the lead in asking the questions.

"I do."

"Is he working today?"

"He is."

"We won't take up too much more of your time. I can tell you're busy and that the men need your direction. How long's he been here?"

The man could tell she seemed genuinely empathic to his business and she sounded so friendly that he gave a lengthier answer to her question. "He's been working, oh, about an hour now. He was extremely late. Drinking by the smell of him. He should lose his job, but the boss goes easy on him on account of his son. He's got a boy that's dying."

"Has he always been like that? Late and undependable?" she asked.

"No, just lately," he admitted. "Since his son got sick."

"Well, thank you," Ruth said. "That's what we needed to know."

"Has he done something?" he asked, his tone hinting that he wouldn't be surprised in the least.

"He owes me some money in cards," Kid said. "But as long as he's working it off, I won't give him no trouble."

He accepted that answer and went back to work.

They made a great team with her questioning, finding out more than his terse questions would have, and him being able to come up with a quick story and providing them the reason to answer her despite her saloon girl appearance.

"I guess that means he's innocent, don't it?" she asked when they were a safe distance away. "We've been barking up the wrong tree." Her glance turned heavenward. "Oh, Lord, who could have taken her?"

"He still may have. He could have her stashed away somewhere till later or there could be more than one involved. "

"More than one? What do you mean?"

"We already know the cook's in on it for some strange reason. Who's to say she's the only one? Maybe we're looking at a gang and not just a single person."

Ruth couldn't wrap her mind around that. It was bad enough that one man was doing it but to think of it being more than one in on it, getting some kind of perverse pleasure in it that she couldn't even begin to imagine. It was horrible.

Kid looked up at the sky to see where the sun was positioned. The day was wearing on; it was already late afternoon, which meant Lucy's time was running out. "I think the best thing we can do is head back. Maybe Robert's found her by now."

"I pray so."


	15. Chapter 15

"You found her?" Robert and Ruth asked at the same time, which answered their question.

Kid and Ruth helped Robert recheck all the alleys. They thought they were in luck when they heard a noise behind a seedy boardinghouse, but it was just a stray cat that had knocked over an empty crate.

A sparkle of reflected light caught Kid's attention. He picked up a necklace with amber stones in the middle that had been laying unnoticed just behind Rufus' saloon.

"That's Lucy's necklace," Ruth said. "I remember she wore it when we went out."

Robert agreed. "I remember it too. It must have dropped unnoticed. It looks too expensive for the villain not to care."

"He wouldn't have walked her down the street and taken the chance of being seen unless he's stupid and obviously he's not if he's gotten away with it this long," Kid said. "He probably stuffed her into a wagon or carriage right here."

"Let's see if Rufus has gotten anything out of the cook," Ruth suggested.

Kid agreed with a nod.

"I'll keep watching out here," Robert said. "He's bound to repeat the pattern of bringing the girl back. I just wish it was quieter, so I could hear any struggles. I might as well be deaf as loud as it is on this street."

No time to waste, Ruth and Kid hurried back into the saloon through the back way to the kitchen.

"You been able to get anything out of her?" Kid asked.

"No, you ain't found her yet?"

"We thought we knew who might've taken her, but no," he said. "No luck."

"Who was that man that was trying to buy your saloon?" Ruth asked.

"That was Angelo Micheletti. He owns the bordello at the end of the street. If ever there was a man who deserved his moniker less. Angel my eye. Devil more like. He makes me look good and I'm no saint."

"You think he wants to get rid of any competition badly enough to kill?" Kid asked.

"Who knows? We don't even cater to the same kind of people. He's just a greedy moneygrubber, but I wouldn't put it past him."

"Well, then that's where we'll look next," Kid said.

Ruth had been watching Minnie for even a twitch to show they were on the right track, but she remained expressionless other than her continual sullen look.

She and Kid set out for the bordello. As they walked through the heart of Pine Street, women called out lewd offers to Kid. She got some lewd offers of her own from some of the drunken men and the sad thing was that many of them would still have called out even if she'd been wearing her revival clothes. They both simply ignored them intent on their mission.

The offers made Ruth burn to hold a revival though right there in the middle of the street to hold up the Light in a dark, storm-tossed place and hopefully draw the shipwrecked souls to safety.

The bordello was fancier than the saloon. So much so, Ruth wondered why he would want Rufus' simple tavern. The red wallpaper looked expensive, there was a fancy chandelier and fancy candelabras on the wall, cushioned seating, a gorgeous curving staircase, paintings that Ruth didn't approve of because of the lack of dress but had a costly appearance all the same, and luxurious oriental rugs on the floor.

Another way it differed from the Last Chance Saloon was that the women who worked here wore only their undergarments as they flirted with the men, who were all upper-class to afford a place like this. Ruth was suddenly grateful for her modest-by-comparison dress.

Why this city or any city would permit these dens of iniquity, she'd never know. So many people suffering because of them from the girls to the men to the families. It should be made illegal if it wasn't already, but places like this existed not because of a lack of man's law but because of a lack of God's law in people's hearts.

Angelo was on a comfy couch chatting with 2 other men. Kid took the lead questioning this time as Angelo didn't look the type who thought much of women or the threat of his gun. "We need to talk."

Angelo looked amused and shooed the men away and stood up. "Yes?"

"We're looking for one of Rufus's girls. She's gone missing," Kid said, not mincing any words.

"Looks like there's one right there at your side," was Angelo's smart reply.

"Another girl. Miss Lucy is a special friend of Miss May here and May's a friend of mine, so I agreed to help find her."

"And why would you think that I'd know anything about this missing girl?" he asked, tapping his cigar so that the ashes fell onto Kid's boots.

"I find it strange that the killer only goes after Rufus' girls. And even stranger that you're in the market for his saloon at the same time."

He shrugged. "It is a small operation, which make for easy targets. My girls have protection."

It was true. There were 3 tough-looking men standing against the wall, looking for trouble. Their eyes were trained on them at the moment.

"I also want the other 2 taverns on Pine Street and none of their girls have gone missing either." He looked at Ruth. "Besides, it's a shame to kill such pretty women. But to show you I'm not a hardhearted man, I will buy the lovely Miss May from Rufus and you can work here in safety. Your friend too if you find her."

Ruth flushed. "No, thank you."

"How do I know you're not hiding her upstairs? If you're as innocent as you claim, you won't mind if we take a look around."

"You won't find her here, but you're welcome to look around."

The offer was too generous and his look too smug. He was either telling the truth or he had her hidden somewhere besides his bordello. And they didn't have time to waste.

It was twilight now as they went back outside. Ruth and Kid were trying hard not to lose hope, but it wasn't looking good.

"There's nothing left to do but pray," Kid said grimly, "and hope He hears us."

"He always hears us," Ruth answered.

It was at that moment they heard a noise in the alley they were next to. It could just be another cat, but Kid drew his gun and went into the alley, hoping it wasn't.

"Ruth!"

Ruth hurried into the alley.

The attacker was nowhere to be seen, but Lucy was there. He must have heard them talking. She was bruised and laying flat on the ground. There were no slash marks on her body, a good sign, but there were 2 very clear handprint marks around her neck, suggesting she might have been strangled.

"Father in heaven, let her be alive," Ruth prayed out loud as she bent down beside Kid to find out one way or the other.


	16. Chapter 16

The rise and fall of her chest proved Lucy was still alive.

"We've got to get her to her room and get a doctor to take a look at her," Kid said.

"I'm not sure the saloon is where she should go. Let's take her to Aunt Dorcas'."

Lucy was light enough that Kid was able to pick her up and carry her on his own.

"You found her," Robert said with relief when they neared him. "Is she..."

"No, she's alive," Kid said. "We're taking her to your aunt's."

"I can carry her."

Kid carefully passed her to Robert.

They tried haling a carriage for hire or even just a good Samaritan, but no one would stop for two saloon girls, especially when one of them was beat up and unconscious. They ended up walking all the way to Aunt Dorcas, which was just under a mile away. It took them about 20 minutes.

She woke up about the time they laid her down on the guest bed.

"Wh-?" Her voice was only a raspy whisper. She looked alarmed by the sound of it. "What happened?"

Robert left quietly from the room.

"Your voice was probably damaged when you were choked," Ruth said. "We're going to get a doctor to look at you."

"No, no doctor," she said. "I feel fine other than my voice."

They would've protested, but she seemed determined on that point and they didn't want to add to her distress.

"Who did this to you, Miss Lucy?" Kid asked.

"I-I don't remember."

It was probably a combination of the drug and hitting her head when she'd fallen. And if there was a part of her that didn't want to remember, who could blame her? "You just rest," Ruth said. "Maybe it'll come back to you."

She looked around the unfamiliar room. "Where am I anyway?"

"With an aunt of mine. You'll like her."

"I thought you didn't have family here?"

"It's not where I'm from originally. In fact, she just moved here herself. My uncle's away, so it'll just be you, her, a baby, and well, you remember my old boyfriend, Robert."

"He's staying here?"

"Well, yes. Aunt Dorcas likes him."

"Good boy, Robert. I don't know why he hasn't gotten married yet," Aunt Dorcas said as she brought in a cup with water and honey in one hand and supported Mercy on her hip with the other. "You poor dear. The water and honey will help. I got some water boiling for tea too. You'll be right as the bank-bad choice of words right now with the financial troubles I suppose, but you'll be fixed up in no time."

Mercy babbled mama repeatedly like a mantra when she caught sight of Ruth and was holding out her arms to her. Aunt Dorcas looked apologetic. Ruth couldn't not take her even in front of Lucy.

"You have a child?" Lucy asked.

"Yeah. She's been taking care of my daughter for me. This is Mercy."

"Why don't you keep her at the saloon? Never mind. Stupid question." She reached her hand out for Mercy's, who shyly tucked her head against her mother's shoulder.

Kid tensely tapped his knuckle against the dresser, trying to think of any clue he'd missed, grabbing Mercy's attention. "Dada."

It was a vast difference from the shy reception Lucy had received and it made the young woman nervous and suspicious. "You haven't just met Mr. Williams, have you? Who are you?"

Ruth looked at Kid, silently seeking his permission. With a lift of his brows and a slight turning of his head that communicated what did it matter now, he gave it. Keeping it a secret from Lucy no longer served a purpose if she was going to be laid up here for a few days and maybe it would assure her that she could trust all of them, open up to them if and when she remembered anything.

"I'm a faith healer and a revivalist. My name's Sister Ruth Cole."

The name didn't seem to mean much to her. "And this is my husband."

"Cole as in Kid Cole?" She hadn't heard of Ruth, but she'd heard of Kid.

Kid nodded. "We're trying to help find the person behind these attacks."

Robert had gone to get some paper, pen, and ink for her and had just returned. He'd overheard them tell her who they were.

"And what are you?" Lucy asked. "Her long-lost brother?"

"Not so long-lost," Robert returned, trying to lighten the reveal a little bit.

Lucy had only been being sarcastic about it. She looked to Ruth for confirmation. "He's your brother?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry we deceived you, but you can see why we did it, can't you? We're more likely to catch the killer if he's unaware of who we are."

"I guess I can understand that."

But Lucy was looking at her like she was another person entirely. It almost always seemed to happen that way. People tended to treat her as less of a person because she was a minister like she was something more than just human. They saw the robe first and the humanity second. She hadn't changed, but Lucy could only see the robe. "I'm still your friend. You know that right? That wasn't an act."

She nodded, but she didn't look convinced.

Robert handed her the items. "So you won't strain your voice anymore."

"You know I'll probably never sing again."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Robert said. "Just rest your voice and write. I guarantee you'll be singing again before you know it

"This is God's punishment for living a life of sin," she said bitterly.

"I don't think that's true," Ruth said. "God just spared your life, didn't He? But even if that's so, it should gladden you for it only shows the Lord's love. If He didn't care, He'd let you go your own way. It's a loving father that corrects his child."

Lucy didn't want to hear it or she wasn't ready to hear it.

"We better be getting back," Kid said.

"I guess we should." She gave Mercy over to Robert.

"I'm going to stay here tomorrow," he said. "I don't think he'll find her here or that we were followed, but it's better not to take chances. We don't want to leave Aunt Dorcas, the baby, or Lucy unprotected."

Kid agreed.

Aunt Dorcas walked them to the door. Ruth remembered to tell Dorcas about Mr. Browne's son even in all this chaos and she said she'd find somebody to volunteer.

"It's not going to be easy taking care of a baby and a hurt woman," Ruth said.

"I expect Robert'll help with Miss Lucy," her aunt returned. "It won't be hard."

"He does seem kind of sweet on her, don't you think?" Ruth asked with a smile.

"The Lord works in wondrous ways. I don't think anything's an accident. You know she seems like a nice girl, broken but nice."

"I agree," Ruth said. She hugged her. "We'll check in when we can."

sss

The afternoon came too soon. Kid and Ruth were still tired from their missed sleep the previous night and the sleep they'd just had hadn't been very restful with all that had happened yesterday.

Kid didn't take off as soon as he usually did. He didn't dare leave her alone for a minute after what happened with Lucy. Even being inside the saloon wasn't safe. She was thankful he wasn't insisting she leave now.

She breezed through the makeup portion, having gotten the hang of the thick and garish application. "I'm ready for the circus," she said.

"I don't know. It's kind of growing on me. And you look much better than any clown I've ever seen."

She grinned, knowing he was only teasing about the liking it. The hair was the trick though. The wind had totally destroyed her hair. Without Lucy, she was never going to get it remotely looking like it was before. She was able to make ringlets though and she pinned them behind her. Not as fancy or professional but suitable enough.

"Did you see the blood under Lucy's nails? I'm guessing she managed to scratch the attacker, so keep your eyes open today. If we can find somebody who's got scratches, we've got our man."

"I didn't notice," Ruth said. "Let's pray she scratched him in some visible places."

There was a knock. Kid rolled up under the bed in case it was one of the women, but it was only Rufus, so he rolled back out.

"You handy in the kitchen?" Rufus asked her.

"As much as any other woman, I reckon."

"Not like any other woman. Minnie can't cook. Dahlia can't cook. Amelia can't cook."

"Probably cause they ain't had much experience at it. Learning to cook takes practice. But I can create something quick and palatable if you need me to."

"Don't listen to her," Kid said. "She never takes credit for her talents. She's a great cook. Where's Minnie?"

"I let her go, but I ain't stupid. She don't know it, but she's being followed. Hopefully, she goes running to the snake and roots him out for us. I'm just glad you two found Lucy. I knew I didn't make a mistake hiring you two. Well, better get down and fix breakfast. The girls get cranky if they don't eat."

Kid went with her and helped with the simple tasks like stirring and grabbing needed items.

He walked her to the dining room door and kissed her soundly before they parted ways.

Ruth laughed softly when he pulled away. "You're a marked man, but I think the color looks good on you." She used her thumb to get as much of it off as she could. "There. That's better."

"The red kind of draws you in like a bull to a cape, but it don't taste very good."

He started to lean in to test his theory and she pushed him away laughingly. "Oh, go on."

The banter had kept the anxiety away momentarily, which had no doubt been his intention, but the reality and danger hit her full force going into the room, especially when Lucy's absence could be felt so strongly.

Rufus brought in the plates as per usual and then went to eat his own alone, although Kid had been eating with him lately.

"How'd yesterday go?" Ruth asked as she sat down.

"Dahlia kept it together. She's so good in an emergency, coolly brushes off any nosy questions. I would've been flustered if it'd been me." Amelia turned to Dahlia. "You should be a madame."

Dahlia wasn't interested in the praise. "Is Lucy still sick and where did you and Rufus disappear to yesterday anyway?"

"Lucy ran into some trouble and she's recovering away from the saloon for the time being."

"You all were looking for her cause she had a run-in with the killer, right?" Dahlia wanted to know.

"Yes. He got away, but thank God he didn't succeed a fourth time. We all need to watch our step."

"The food doesn't taste horrible," Dahlia said in surprise, not having noticed right away due to the intense conversation. "Either the girl just performed a miracle or Rufus got a new cook, but I'm betting it's a new cook."

"It tastes amazing," Amelia agreed. "I was starting to miss the meals at the orphanage and they weren't first rate."

"I'm glad ya'll like it," Ruth said.

"You fixed this?" Amelia asked.

"Minnie left. Someday had to, I guess."

"Huh," "Dahlia said. "Well, you may be a lousy saloon girl, but you make a decent cook. Maybe you're not worthless after all."

Both women seemed to warm up to her more, especially Dahlia. Maybe the extra work would be worth it.


	17. Chapter 17

Ruth was looking for scratch marks among the men but having no luck.

"I've never met a lady of pleasure before," confided some young kid almost shyly.

She'd been so involved in looking, she hadn't noticed him standing right next to her. She sighed. She really didn't have the patience for this right now and she must have scared him with the look she gave him because he took a step back.

"Is this your first time, honey?" Amelia asked, jumping in.

The boy nodded. He was so young, just 2 or 3 years older than her nephew Danny by the looks of it. He had no business being in here, none of them did, but him especially.

"Go home," Ruth pleaded. "It just ain't worth it. Believe me."

He looked unsure of what to do.

"Look around you. Is this what you want? You want to end up diseased or even dying cause you fooled around or just be generally miserable? Go before you make a terrible mistake."

He took off. She hoped she'd gotten through to him and that he wouldn't venture into a saloon again but it was hard to say.

"He was too young," she said to Amelia by way of explanation.

"Older than I was when I had my first experience. The director of the orphanage taught me what I needed to know when I was 9."

"That's terrible. I'm so sorry."

"Well, it's not like I had many prospects. It taught me a skill I could use outside the orphanage." She shrugged off her sympathy and the way she spoke of it, it was almost like it had happened to another person entirely. She didn't seem to recognize the horror of what had happened to her or didn't want to.

She took her hand. "That shouldn't have happened to you. You'll be in my prayers."

Amelia cocked her head like she couldn't quite figure her out. "You're a nice person, May. A little weird maybe but nice."

After Amelia went back to entertaining, Kid came up to her.

"What'd you do to that kid? He ran out of here like a scalded dog."

"Nothing. Just set him straight is all."

"I'll bet," he said with a grin. He sobered. "I just happened to think one person we ain't talked to is the undertaker. Maybe he noticed something Rufus didn't concerning the bodies."

"Good idea. I guess you want me to go along?" she said, twirling her hair flirtatiously while he trapped her against the bar with his arms to keep up appearances.

"You ain't staying here."

"Not sure I'd want to," she said, thinking about Lucy.

"We'll act like we're having another tryst and go out the back."

He handed money to Rufus again after asking where they could find the undertaker.

The undertaker's place of business wasn't far from the saloon. They passed the graveyard where the women must have been buried on their way. A striped pole marked the building they were looking for. Undertakers couldn't survive on taking care of bodies alone. They also generally served as a barber and a dentist to eke out a decent living.

Ruth went in first. It must have been a slow day because he had no customers at the moment.

"You got a bad tooth?" the man asked her.

"No."

"Cause I don't do women's hair."

"I wouldn't expect you to. We're here about the girls from the saloon." she said, letting him know that she and Kid were together. "We were told you buried them."

"I might've known. Don't tell me another one of your lot's been killed?"

"No. We just want to know everything you remember about them. We're trying to help keep it from happening again."

He shrugged as if he didn't think it'd help anything, but he complied. "No kin any of them or at least none that wanted to claim them. Buried them just like they were. Well, they might have been cleaned up by the other girls as much as was possible. It was a messy work, slashes everywhere and bruises. There was no funeral services. Didn't have to bother putting coins over their eyes. I guess there wouldn't be much point in praying over their bodies anyway. Sorry, ma'am. No offense."

"You don't know the state of those girls' souls at the time of their death. Could be they righted themselves with God."

"Could be," he agreed halfheartedly.

Kid could see he wasn't going to be able to produce anything specific about the injuries. It had just been another job to him. "Did the police look at the bodies?"

"Not that I know of. They were too busy, I reckon."

"And that's all you can remember? What you've told us?" Kid asked.

"That's all."

He was lying, she could see it in the way he shifted his body. He was keeping vital information from them. She looked to see if Kid noticed it too. He did and was staring at the man hard.

"There's something else," Kid said. "What is it?"

"Oh, where are our manners?" Ruth said. "We forgot to introduce ourselves. This is Mr. Kid Cole. Perhaps you've heard of him?"

That did the trick. "I just noticed they was all wearing a nice piece of jewelry, a gold bracelet with 3 emeralds on the clasp, a flowery gold brooch, and these fancy pearl earrings."

"And you took them," Kid said, not really needing an answer due to the man's nervous manner.

"Well, they didn't need them where they was going, did they? It would just have been wasted on corpses and them no more than strumpets."

"Don't suppose you still have the pieces?" Kid asked.

"No. I sold them. This doesn't have to go to the marshal, does it?"

"They're not interested in finding the girls' murderer, I doubt they're interested in finding who stole from them, but you'll tell us if you remember anything else, won't you?" Kid asked, a statement more than a question.

"Oh, yes. You can depend on it."

"That was pretty low though," Ruth said. "I hope you plan on asking for forgiveness from God and doing something worthwhile with the money."

If he thought it strange to be lectured on God by a saloon girl, he didn't say. "Yes, ma'am. I will."

"What do you make of that?" Kid asked outside.

"Well, we know Mr. Kingston gave Lucy the necklace. I guess we have to find out if he bestowed all the fine jewelry."

"And if it is him, we'll have to have more evidence than that or the marshal won't take it seriously, him being a blueblood."

They passed the graveyard again. This time, they stopped to look for fresh graves. They found 3 newly dug ones side by side. There were other new ones, but they had markers and these didn't as if the "decent" citizens were hoping they would quickly be forgotten.

"Merciful Lord, don't let their deaths be in vain. Help us bring swift capture before there is any more violence. Let good come from this."

"Amen," Kid said.

The rest of their walk was quiet, but he saw Ruth's lips working as they engaged in silent, private prayer with the Father.

Kid waited behind the door for Ruth where he could see her, but others couldn't see him while she asked Dahlia or Amelia about the jewelry. The plan was then to make as if she had to go prepare lunch, which she did at some point.

Ruth went to Dahlia, knowing she would be the most likely to have observed the pieces.

"Do you remember that nice necklace Lucy got from Mr. Kingston?"

"Of course. Why?"

"Oh, no reason. I was just wondering if that was usual for Mr. Kingston to give way jewelry like that."

"Certainly. You're always receiving gifts of one sort or another from the men. Finally tired of Mr. Williams? You trying to get a piece for yourself?"

"Maybe. So has Mr. Kingston been a patron here long?"

"About a year, I suppose."

"And he made presents to the others girls."

"That's right." Dahlia gasped. "He's the one. He was paying them all special attention when they were killed. And now he was paying Lucy attention. Why didn't I see it before?"

"We don't know that for sure. It could just be a coincidence."

Dahlia looked for Mr. Kingston, who wasn't there at the moment. "But I don't think it is and I don't think you think it is either."

"I'll tell Rufus. I have to go put lunch together anyway. Just act like everything's perfectly normal, especially if you see Mr. Kingston."

"Don't I always," she muttered.

She reported to Kid what Dahlia had told her. "And I still have Lucy's necklace. I forgot to give it back to her last night."

"Good. I have a feeling it'll come in handy." He made sure his pistol was loaded. "I never did get a chance to follow Mr. Kingston home. I'd say it's long past time we were paying him a little visit."


	18. Chapter 18

Kid and Ruth checked in with Rufus and got directions to Kingston's home this time. His house was a Federal-style brick mansion and a butler opened the door, which was no surprise.

"We're looking for Mr. Kingston," Ruth informed him.

Disdain at their appearance, Ruth's especially, appeared on his face. "I am terribly sorry, but Mr. Kingston isn't at home."

"Do you know where he is at?" Kid asked.

"I'm afraid-"

"Who is it, Foster?" called a woman's voice.

"No one important, madam."

But Mrs. Kingston wasn't one to take her butler at his word and had to come see for herself.

"Ma'am," Kid said, tipping his hat. "I believe we must be looking for your son, a Mr. Kingston."

Ruth could see she was about to refuse telling them where he was at, so she jumped in. "He's been giving jewelry to some of the ladies down at the Last Chance Saloon and we just have some questions we'd like to ask him. Important questions. We don't have to come in. We'll wait out here or if he really ain't at home, we'll go to him."

"My son wouldn't consort with a girl of the town. You must be mistaken," Mrs. Kingston said in a proud voice.

Ruth held Lucy's necklace up for her to see as proof. "We're not. It's vital we talk to him."

The older woman gasped. "That's my necklace! So you're the ones that have been stealing my jewelry!"

Kid was irritated. "Ma'am, if we were stealing your jewelry, we'd hardly knock on your front door and show it to you. Maybe your son could clear the matter up for you."

She wasn't listening to him, she was watching something or someone behind him.

Suddenly a man's voice said, "You're under arrest."

Kid spun around, but it was Ruth he was talking to.

Ruth's mouth had dropped. "On what grounds?"

"For disturbing the peace," he answered in a clipped tone.

"But I haven't. I just came to talk to this woman's son. I haven't broken a single law."

"In that state of dress of dress on this street, that's enough to disturb the peace. So come along."

"And she stole my necklace," said Mrs. Kingston, doing an unladylike action in her anger by pointing at her.

"It ain't true. Her son gave it to my friend. That's what we was coming to ask about."

"Likely story," he said, snapping the handcuffs on her wrists after putting her hands behind her back and then he handed Mrs. Kingston the necklace.

The marshal started walking her to jail and Kid, of course, followed, trying to reason with the man.

"She is not a harlot. She's Sister Ruth, a well-known faith healer and revivalist," Kid explained. "I'm her husband, Kid Cole. We're doing the job you and your men refuse to do, which is find the man killing the women on Pine Street. That's the reason for the unconventional dress."

"Yeah, and I'm the Queen Victoria," the marshal relied, not believing a word of it.

Kid wanted to punch him, but it wouldn't improve matters.

It was a small jail for a city. Two cells and a desk for the marshal though the marshal had more than one deputy; they were out patrolling the city. Once the marshal had Ruth behind bars, he set an outrageous bail price for her release. Kid didn't have the money.

"Better get word back to the saloon that I won't be back anytime soon," Ruth said.

She might have been fairly safe from the killer behind bars, but he was staying right here to be sure. It was possible Kingston might come to check things out if his mother told him of the incident and decide to silence Ruth. "When you going to let her out?" Kid growled.

The marshal smiled. "If she can't pay the bail, she'll have to serve her time. A month."

"Then I'll wait right here," Kid said, sitting down. "Until you release her."

"I'll throw you in too."

"You'd have to make up a crime first, but it suits me as long as I'm with my wife. Think of what the papers are going to say when they find out Louisville's very own marshal is letting a killer run loose but arresting a minister. I'll start penning a letter now. In fact, I've got a few notes to write."

Though he wanted to lock Kid up, he had the feeling he wouldn't have much minded it. Better chance of getting rid of him if he left on his own. The marshal still didn't believe the story for a minute and he was sure Kid would leave when he saw he meant to keep his girlfriend locked up for the whole month. "Your threats don't scare me."

sss

There were only 2 other prisoners, both men, and Ruth had gotten them to join in with her clapping and singing even though they couldn't see her since they were in the cell beside hers. St. Paul would've been proud.

"O mourner, let's go down,  
>let's go down, let's go down,<br>O mourner, let's go down,  
>Down in the valley to pray.<p>

As I went down in the valley to pray  
>Studying about that good old way,<br>When we shall wear the starry crown  
>Good Lord, show me the way.<p>

O Sister, let's go down,  
>let's go down, let's go down,<br>O Sister, let's go down,  
>Down in the valley to pray.<p>

As I went down in the valley to pray  
>Studying about that good old way,<br>When we shall wear the starry crown  
>Good Lord, show me the way.<p>

O Brother, let's go down,  
>let's go down, let's go down,<br>O Brother, let's go down,  
>Down in the valley to pray."<p>

Ruth was getting on the marshal's nerves, not with the intention of annoying him. She just naturally turned to prayer and singing to keep her spirits up, especially without her Bible along to read, which must have been killing her. The marshal was thinking about letting her go. Kid could see it in the man's face.

"It is after midnight," the marshal groused, almost pleaded. "Go to sleep."

"I would, brother," Ruth said sweetly, "but it's mighty hard to sleep locked up with a man you don't know a spying on you through the bars. I'd just as soon as soon stay up with the Lord if it's all the same to you."

She received cheers from her fan club in the next cell and then they struck up "Rock of Ages". Kid joined in this time.

Sleep came during one prayer session though and no one in the party quite seemed to remember when, but they woke up at the entry of a well-dressed, rotund man with graying at the temples, a patrician nose, and a cleft chin.

The man handed a very official-looking letter to the marshal, who didn't look happy at its contents. The marshal threw it on his desk and went out for a walk.

The man got the keys out of the desk and went to let Ruth out. "You don't know who I am, do you?"

"Afraid not, but I thank you for whatever you just did."

"I'm the governor." He definitely had the look of a politician and it explained the seal on the letter. "I believe your husband sent a letter to your aunt yesterday explaining where you were, who then sent a letter of explanation to me as she'd read I was staying at the Galt House. She no doubt thought it a long shot, but by happy circumstance, I knew you, Sister Ruth."

One of the 3 letters Kid had given a boy to deliver yesterday had worked. "Thank you, Jesus." She then turned her attention back to the governor. "So we've met?" She wouldn't have been surprised. She'd met many people over the years.

"Not formally, no, or even informally, but you really inspired my son. Got him on the right path again. And I'm grateful to you for that."

"I'm glad to hear it, but only God can take the credit for that."

"Maybe so, but you were His mouthpiece. You're much different than I expected though," he said, speaking of the dress he could now fully see unimpeded by the bars.

She turned a bright red. "This ain't my usual dress, I promise you." She then proceeded to explain the whole story that Aunt Dorcas had only alluded to in her letter.

"Well, then let me see about bringing Mr. Kingston in for questioning," the governor said in response. "If the marshal's not doing his job, I'll see him replaced."

"Ruth, will you wait here while I go help him see if Mrs. Kingston can be persuaded to give up her son this time?" Kid asked.

"Certainly. I'll wait for the marshal. The poor man'll want to know what's going on when he gets back." Ruth smiled as she picked up her reticule that the marshal had taken from her yesterday evening. "Between my bag and the Lord, I'm in good hands."

Though the governor didn't understand how the bag would help, Kid did, as the gun was there. She also still had her knife that the marshal had known nothing about due to its sensitive location. He hadn't given her a proper shakedown. Mostly cause Kid hadn't let him, she figured.

"Let's go get him," Kid said to the governor and the door slammed for the second time that morning.

"If that wasn't God sending His aid, I don't know what is," she said half to the prisoners and half to herself.


	19. Chapter 19

The marshal found Ruth sitting at his desk, praying for a quick, successful capture and for all the girls' safety. "Aren't you supposed to be gone?" he asked, clearly annoyed.

"I'm waiting for my husband to return with the killer. We're very sure that it's Mr. Kingston and that he'll need to be locked up until his trial."

"If that's true, his mother doubtless alerted him that somebody was looking for him. He's probably long gone by now."

"If he is, Kid'll find him," she said with surety.

"I've lost my job with the governor involved in this. A marshal is an elected position, you know. I've got a wife and 2 small kids to support. You could have told me who you really were."

"We did and you didn't believe us," she gently reminded him. "But maybe there's something you can do. I'm pretty certain you can still save your job if you help bring the killer in."

"And how do I do that?"

"Does a man like Mr. Kingston ever really think he's going to get caught? He thinks his friends and his money will buy him a pardon or a lighter sentence, which most times does turn out to be the case, but this is more horrific than the average crime. I don't think he'll find it very easy, but does he know that?"

"You driving at something?"

"Just that he's probably confident enough to go about business as usual. You can probably find him down at the saloon searching out his next victim."

"You know you just might be right." The marshal had warmed up to her considerably since she was trying to help him. "The safest place will be with me. Why don't you come along?"

She didn't know that with him was the safest place, but she did want to make sure Amelia and Dahlia were alright. "Who's going to watch your prisoners?"

He seemed to just realize they were still there. He went for the keys. "Oh, they were just in for disorderly conduct anyway. They can have an early release."

If the prisoners had taken a liking to Sister Ruth before, they loved her now. After giving her their sincere thanks and their promise to behave better in the future, Ruth and the marshal set off for the saloon.

sss

Kid and the governor had gone to the Kingston home first. This time they didn't even open the door.

"I shouldn't have come with you," Kid said. "Mrs. Kingston would've probably opened the door to you."

"I don't make it a habit to chase down killers, so I really wouldn't have it any other way. You think he's in there?"

"Hard to say, but it looks like his carriage is gone. Why don't we go ask down at the saloon? Could be someone there knows where he is."

Everyone in the saloon could have told them where he was and when Mr. Kingston saw them coming, he knew right away they were coming for him. He recognized the governor and his mother had told him about the visitors. A sudden panic struck despite his confidence that they wouldn't prosecute a man of his status over a few prostitutes.

When they came through the door, Mr. Kingston grabbed Amelia, who was closest, and wrapped one arm around her waist and the other around her throat, using her for a shield. He saw Mr. Williams' gun and he had a feeling the man wasn't afraid to use it. "Come any closer," he warned, "and I'll snap her neck."

"Come now, Kingston," the governor said. "No one's going to hurt you. We just want to talk."

"I bet," he scoffed. "That's why you brought the marshal along."

The marshal and Ruth had just entered the saloon and were hanging back behind them.

Reverend Thomas stood up. "You don't want to hurt that girl, Mr. Kingston." He had a soothing voice and he didn't talk down to him or over him.

"You don't know what I want, Reverend. That stupid cook. Thought I was really going to give her a job. I should have done it all on my own. She was what first set you on my trail, wasn't she?"

"No, she was actually very tight-lipped and loyal. It was all your gifts of jewelry that was your mistake," Kid said, hoping to distract him and keep him talking, so that someone could get Amelia away. Rufus was slowly inching in that direction, hoping to do just that.

"Jewelry makes a woman thankful. But I must admit, I prefer when a woman's got some fight, when her pain adds to my pleasure. It's a shame we haven't yet gotten better acquainted," Kingston said softly to Amelia.

"You get pleasure from their deaths?" Reverend Thomas asked quietly and sadly.

"Not altogether, I suppose, but they shouldn't make a man feel the way they do. They bring out my darkest passions. Wicked ends for wicked women. And who's going to miss them anyway? There's always a whore looking to take their place. Isn't that right, May?"

Though he was disgusted with this remorseless attitude, Reverend Thomas' voice stayed sympathetic partly because he did have sympathy for all sinners but mostly to allow Rufus to continue to draw closer unnoticed. "Temptations can be hard to overcome."

"Exactly. The way I see it, Reverend, it's a bit of Old Testament justice, purging the evil from among us."

By the Law of Moses, the man bore equal guilt, but now wasn't the time to mention that. And this man didn't care what it said anyway, he was only trying to excuse his own guilt. "And yet, grace and forgiveness is the higher law if people are willing to turn from their wicked ways."

"I am a Kingston," he declared irrationally as if that made him above both man and God's law.

Rufus tackled Kingston to the floor hard, allowing Amelia to scramble from his grasp.

The marshal hurried over and handcuffed the right person this time. He just had to track down and arrest Minnie now, since she was an accomplice. He was going to have one of his deputies do it just as soon as he got Mr. Kingston locked up.

It was going to be hard to forgive a man as despicable as Mr. Kingston, a man who'd murdered multiple times and showed not the slightest hint of regret or shame. Ruth had a feeling she'd be praying for many days to come for God to soften her heart towards him.

Kid went over to Ruth. "I wish you would've stayed put like I told you."

"It would've probably been wise, but at least, this is all over. Praise God."

"Well, you did it," Rufus said, coming up to them. "And you both have my thanks." He gave Kid back all the money he'd spent on drink, cards, and Ruth. As well as a little besides in gratitude.

"We were glad to help," Ruth said. "It wasn't right for the law not to get involved, but it looks like it might be different from now on, at least as long as the current marshal is in office. Course, you could give up this business altogether and find a better one. God would bless you for it. Bless you even more if you decided to walk with Him."

"No thanks. I'm content the way things are," he said before he moved off like a scared rabbit like if he stayed she might just convince him.

The governor came over to shake Kid's hand. "We could use a man like you in Kentucky. If you ever want to give sheriffing a try, just say the word. Of course, I realize ya'll are in the revival business, but if you're ever looking for a change."

"Thank you, governor," Kid said.

The word "change", reminding Ruth she could finally get out of the awful saloon clothes, spurred her towards the bedroom and Kid followed not because he needed to protect her from a murderer, but there were still plenty of lecherous men about.

sss

She patted the top button of her dress that was placed right at her throat like an old friend. A low neckline was fashionable among respectable women, at least in eveningwear, but she much preferred a high neckline. She lifted her foot up, not even a flash of ankle to be seen. It felt good to be back in her old, modest clothing. But it felt even better to pick up her leather-worn Bible. Instant access to the Father's words. That was what she had been missing even more than her garments.

"Feel like you again?" Kid asked.

"Yeah, thank God," she said, returning her wedding ring to her finger. "You know though I don't regret disguising myself, at least for the most part. You can't truly appreciate a person's hardships until you've walked a mile in their shoes. I didn't fully realize what it was like for them girls to go out in public or interact with the law. I think it'll help with my ministry in the saloons. Help me understand them better."

"That's a good way to look at it," he said. He got a mischievous grin on his face as he continued, "But there were so many experiences you didn't get to experience like climbing up on the tabletop and dancing naked-"

"Kid Cole!" she said, flushing in anger. "Sometimes I think you ain't got a lick of propriety in you. If you said that in front of anybody-"

"I know I'd never hear the end of it. Well, I do prefer you covered up cause I don't like men giving you the eye, but if you kept one of these dresses for my viewing only, you wouldn't hear me complaining."

Ruth smiled as she shook her head in mild exasperation.

"Of course, if I'm being honest, I really prefer you with nothing on."

She laughed this time. "Oh, get a move on. I just hope you repent of your uncouth talk before church tomorrow."

"I ain't got nothing to repent of, Mrs. Cole," he said, walking out with her. "The Lord knows I meant every word and he appreciates truthfulness if you don't."

They were laughing still as they came back into the saloon.

Dahlia, who was comforting a still frightened Amelia, did a double take when she saw Ruth, almost not recognizing her.

Kid knew without her saying that she wanted to talk to them alone. "I want to talk with the reverend. Thank him for his part in helping him with the capture." He kissed her cheek in affection and in warning to the men in the room that she was even more his than they'd originally thought.

"I knew there was something off about you," Dahlia accused as Ruth joined them. "You're not really a saloon girl."

"No, just a simple faith healer. I'm very sorry I deceived you both, but I wanted to help and this seemed the best way to go about it."

Amelia managed a shaky smile. "And you did, May."

"Ruth actually," she said, glad she could reclaim her name and drop the pretense. "I prefer Sister Ruth though."

Dahlia was watching Kid. "So that's your husband I take it since you behaved so familiarly with him. Does he really still feel so passionately about you or was that part of the playacting?"

"No, we really love each other. We have a good marriage, and I know what you're thinking, but we're not newlyweds."

"You're lucky then," Dahlia said.

"I don't believe in luck. I believe in blessings. And I think the most important reason our marriage works so well is that we both love God. We can love each other better as a brother and sister in Christ and forgive easier. Marriages go wrong when we hold onto past hurts or when we simply love ourselves better than our spouses or God."

Dahlia didn't look convinced.

"You can leave your husband if he's forcing you into doing this. It's wrong. Would he try to hurt you if you did?"

"Mac? No. He's a selfish creature but not a violent man. Why do you religious types think you can just tell people how to live their lives?" Despite her bravado, Ruth could see she was afraid to leave and maybe with good reason. Jobs were scarce with the economy, but it was so much riskier to stay both healthwise and morally. Dahlia didn't see it that way though.

"What about you, Amelia? Do you want to seek out a better life, a better way to live?"

"I don't see need the need to change. This is what I know and I'm good at it. There could be a Mr. Kingston anywhere. What if I'd been a maid in his household? More respectable but in just as much danger. Things will get better now."

Ruth could be described as pushy, but she had a knack for knowing when the pushing would lead a person further from the Lord rather than closer or when it was simply falling on deaf ears. "Well, if ya'll ever do decide you don't want to do this anymore or even just need anything, I have an aunt and uncle here in Louisville, who would be happy to help you both."

She wrote their names and address on a piece of paper and gave it to Amelia. Then she went to join Kid and the reverend.

"Reverend Thomas was just telling me he got his old job back."

"Congratulations," Ruth said. "You never did say much about what your old job was."

"A seminary teacher in Pennsylvania. I'll also have a small congregation to pastor. I left because of a disagreement over church leadership. I think churches in my denomination should give more say to the congregants than they do. My colleagues wanted me to retract on my stance, but I refused, so they let me go. I'm apparently very well-liked by my students though because they argued my case after I left and now I've received a letter from the dean asking me back and I've decided that it's God will for me."

"You could go out west you know," Ruth suggested helpfully.

"I could but I won't. I've had enough excitement just here in Kentucky to last me a long while."

"It wouldn't have to be a completely lawless place. There are quiet towns or at least as quiet as any place can be. You could build your own little church up," she said, "where it would be more independent."

"I could, but I won't." He smiled. "I just don't know that I'm the adventurer type and building up a new church in an untamed land would be an adventure."

She laughed. "I can respect that. God has a different calling for each of us. I've found mine and you've found yours, but I'm glad our paths crossed for a time, brother. You made me see how a quiet, gentle sprit can shine God's light so brightly."

"I wouldn't discount our more vocal brothers and sisters though. I admire your boldness. Our paths will cross again. In heaven someday, sister, if not before. I find it's a small world we live in."

"Ain't that the truth?" She looked at Kid. "I don't know about you, honey, but I'm ready to go spend some time with our family."

"Me too, and I'm sure Robert and Lucy'll want to know they can rest easy now."

sss

Aunt Dorcas' house held an even bigger surprise for Ruth than the events of the day.

"I'm getting married," Robert announced to his sister with obvious joy and pride before the Coles could deliver their news.

"What? To who?" Ruth asked. She had a feeling she knew, but she was just so stunned by it.

"To Lucy. She's going to stop being a saloon girl. Obviously. We prayed together that her voice would come back and it did. Right then and there. It caused her faith to be restored or maybe it was faith that restored her voice, so if that's what your worried about, you shouldn't be."

"You put off getting married for years and now you're going to marry a girl you barely know?" Lucy walked in on that comment, embarrassing Ruth a little. "I'm sorry. It's got nothing to do with your profession or I should say former profession. I'm happy you're turning your life around."

"Just not happy I'm marrying your brother?"

"Yes. No. I wouldn't be happy about him marrying anyone he'd just met. It's too soon. Folks should take the time to get to know each other first. You ain't even known each other a week yet."

"How long did you and Kid wait to get married once you'd decided you loved each other?" Robert wanted to know.

"Months," she replied quickly.

"Mostly because we were in the wilderness and I was awhile coming to the Lord. And I don't know if you know this, but your sister's a pretty stubborn woman. It took me awhile to get her to say yes, but I think under different circumstances, we might have gotten married very fast indeed."

"You're not helping, Kid," she said, giving him a pointed look. She turned back to Robert. "Ain't you heard marry in haste repent in leisure?"

"That in the Bible, is it?" Robert asked with an amused glint in his eye that said he knew it wasn't.

"Ya'll just need-I'm being too bossy, aren't I?" she asked, stopping herself.

"Yes," Robert and Kid said at the same time.

"I'm sorry. Of course it's your decision, Robert, and you have my blessing for what it's worth."

"It's worth a lot and I forgive you, Ru. I know it's only cause you care about both of us, but I'm a grown man. Older than you, in fact. I just know this is right. That this is the plan God has for my life. You ever felt that way?"

Ruth smiled. "You know I have. Oh, come here you," she said, enveloping her elder brother in a hug.

She hugged Lucy next. "Welcome to the family. I'll be proud to call you sister in the earthly and heavenly sense both."


End file.
